A MAJOR bargain supermarket chain with 900 branches is set to shut its town centre store for good.
Shoppers have been left in “complete shock” after learning of the sudden closure.
Iceland is pulling down the shutters on its store in Port Glasgow after staff have been informed of the imminent closure set for the end of the year.
A source told the Greenock Telegraph: “Staff were told that it is closing at the end of the year, some have been offered redundancy.
“Some have been offered a temporary contract for seasonal work at the Greenock store over Christmas. But after that, that is it.
“It is a real blow to our customers, many of them live nearby and rely on the store.”
However, the supermarket spokesperson has denied the news, saying: “There are currently no plans to close the Port Glasgow Store”.
Fears over the shop’s future grew after locals have spotted “To Let” sign plastered above the store.
The landlord advertised the 831.73 square metre retail space for £30,000 a year.
Residents have branded the move as “devastating loss” to the city after the Bank of Scotland and the Spar have also announced their departure from the town centre.
Locals have cried out at the latest blow.
Margaret Barnes told the Tele: “I think it is absolutely terrible. We were told by the staff that it was closing, there will be nothing left in the town centre.
“I always come in to Iceland and it is terrible for the staff. They are lovely in there and they look out for you.”
Her daughter Margaret said: All the older folk in the high rises and who live in the Alleys area want to be able to walk here to Iceland.
“It came out of the blue for the staff, it was a complete shock.”
Another shopper Brenda Hughes added: ” It is such a shame and everyone is talking about it. It is a big loss to the town centre.”
Retailers often close the under-performing stores to relocate to areas with higher demand or over failure to renew the lease on the building.
Iceland has previously shut down its stores in Bicester High Street and in Rugby Central Shopping Centre.
It follows Iceland’s decision to close the branch in the Rosemary Centre in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire on January 13.
It brings the total number of Iceland stores that have closed since the last year to 23.
But it’s not all doom and gloom as the frozen foods specialist has set its sights on opening 250 new food warehouses.
The supermarket chain is looking to expand across the UK, specifically in Brighton, Crawley, Dundee and Salisbury.
Iceland is ramping up its expansion plans in the suburban areas of Glasgow, London, Manchester and Newcastle as well.
The supermarket chain first launched its warehouses, which are three times the size of the traditional Iceland store, in 2014 as an experiment.
The number of the food warehouses has since reached over 200, with most of them located in retail parks.
RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
The high street has seen a whole raft of closures over the past year, and more are coming.
The number of jobs lost in British retail dropped last year, but 120,000 people still lost their employment, figures have suggested.
Figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed that 10,494 shops closed for the last time during 2023, and 119,405 jobs were lost in the sector.
It was fewer shops than had been lost for several years, and a reduction from 151,641 jobs lost in 2022.
The centre’s director, Professor Joshua Bamfield, said the improvement is “less bad” than good.
Although there were some big-name losses from the high street, including Wilko, many large companies had already gone bust before 2022, the centre said, such as Topshop owner Arcadia, Jessops and Debenhams.
“The cost-of-living crisis, inflation and increases in interest rates have led many consumers to tighten their belts, reducing retail spend,” Prof Bamfield said.
“Retailers themselves have suffered increasing energy and occupancy costs, staff shortages and falling demand that have made rebuilding profits after extensive store closures during the pandemic exceptionally difficult.”
Alongside Wilko, which employed around 12,000 people when it collapsed, 2023’s biggest failures included Paperchase, Cath Kidston, Planet Organic and Tile Giant.
The Centre for Retail Research said most stores were closed because companies were trying to reorganise and cut costs rather than the business failing.
However, experts have warned there will likely be more failures this year as consumers keep their belts tight and borrowing costs soar for businesses.
The Body Shop and Ted Baker are the biggest names to have already collapsed into administration this year.
