B&M has launched a huge half-price closing down sale and shoppers are rushing to get their hands on a bargain.
The discount chain is shuttering its shop in Harpurhey and is looking to clear old stock – but it’s not all bad news.
The store is relocating to a bigger and better unit just next door to the current one.
After moving into the former bingo hall next door, the chain is said to be looking to expand into the former site to make an even bigger shop in the coming months.
Shoppers have been spotted queuing out the door to get their hands on bargains.
The Harpurhey Shopping Centre posted on Facebook: “B&M Stores is relocating within the centre!
“Enjoy 50% off all items whilst stocks last.”
Bargain hunters flocked to the comments, some claiming they were queuing for as long as three hours, but managed to bag “loads” of deals.
One said: “£225 worth of items for when we go away for £111.
“Was queuing for checkout from 11.50am to 2.50pm.”
Another wrote: “Three hours we were in the queue..”
A third said: “I got 120 quid worth of stuff for my house for £60 so wasn’t too bad, it was stuff I was planning to buy too.”
“Shall we go?,” another tagged her pals and asked.
According to shoppers, the deals are on everything but alcohol and kiosk sales.
Many spotted bargains including perfume, food and homeware must-haves.
A notice on the B&M website reads: “Your B&M Harpurhey store is currently undergoing refurbishment works, in order to bring you a new and improved B&M store.
EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre’s decline.
The Sun’s business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.
In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.
Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open. In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.
The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.
Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead.
Boss Stuart Machin recently said that when it relocated a tired store in Chesterfield to a new big store in a retail park half a mile away, its sales in the area rose by 103 per cent.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Wilko, Debenhams Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Paperchase to name a few.
What’s increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused, however your store will remain open while the work is carried out so you can still get all your usual bargains.
“Your newly refurbished B&M Harpurhey will be ready: Saturday, August 24, 2024.”
The new store will be opening on Thursday, so today is the last day to pick up the closing down sale deals.
According to a current store worker, the new shop will be a homestore as opposed to a regular B&M.
“The old building will be extended into over the next couple of months,” they said.
The Sun has contacted B&M for comment and will update this story when we hear back.
In April this year, the chain also shuttered its store in Abergavenny, Wales.
The store is relocated to a bigger and better unit in the shopping park and created 17 jobs for local people.
B&M confirmed the store is moved into a former Wilko site which is just a stone’s throw away from its former premises.
SUN Savers Editor Lana Clements explains how to find a cut-price item and bag a bargain...
Sign up to loyalty schemes of the brands that you regularly shop with.
Big names regularly offer discounts or special lower prices for members, among other perks.
Sales are when you can pick up a real steal.
Retailers usually have periodic promotions that tie into payday at the end of the month or Bank Holiday weekends, so keep a lookout and shop when these deals are on.
Sign up to mailing lists and you’ll also be first to know of special offers. It can be worth following retailers on social media too.
When buying online, always do a search for money off codes or vouchers that you can use vouchercodes.co.uk and myvouchercodes.co.uk are just two sites that round up promotions by retailer.
Scanner apps are useful to have on your phone. Trolley.co.uk app has a scanner that you can use to compare prices on branded items when out shopping.
Bargain hunters can also use B&M’s scanner in the app to find discounts in-store before staff have marked them out.
And always check if you can get cashback before paying which in effect means you’ll get some of your money back or a discount on the item.
In January the discount retailer announced it would be opening 17 new sites in 2024.
The bargain retailer currently has around 700 stores but has a long-term target of 950 sites.
Back in May 2023, B&M announced plans to open 30 new stores in the UK over the past year, including some relocations of older sites.
However, the retailer is taking things a step further this year with several former Wilko stores in its hands to play with.
B&M bought up 51 Wiko sites in a £13million deal in September 2023 when the beloved retailer fell into administration.
To open some new sites B&M has had to restructure its portfolio and this has meant some stores have closed.
The retailer has closed ten of its stores since February 2023.
While a closing-down sale offers big discounts on already bargain prices, there are still ways to save at B&M stores
The B&M barcode scanner app allows you to discover discounted items before the staff has even reduced them.
The scanner is located on the B&M Stores mobile app, which can be downloaded for free on your smartphone.
Shoppers can download it on the App Store or Google Play.
Once you’ve got the app, click on the “scan” button at the bottom of your homepage.
This will then bring up the camera on your smartphone, which you’ll need to use to scan barcodes.
When you’ve found a product you want to scan, simply point your smartphone camera toward its barcode.
The app will then automatically bring up the item’s price – this is when you’ll know if it is reduced or not.
Bargain hunters say some items come up as £1, 50p or even 10p through the app.
Shoppers should also keep an eye out for products with a white reduction sticker on.
This means they will have a certain amount slashed off the price shown on the label.
Shop for products at the end of the season.
Get friendly with staff too.
They’ll be able to tell you when the sales will hit, or if there are bargains out the back – so you get the best bits.
Meanwhile, B&M fans have been shocked to discover a little-known trick to find the cheapest bargains that are reduced to just 10p.
Plus, B&M shoppers are rushing to pick up a bargain £3 fondue barbecue set
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories
