THE UK’s largest outdoor retailer is set to see the end of its “fantastic” stores.
With more than 70 branches, Blacks Outdoors has been forced to close its Leicester branch.
Eagle-eyed passers-by spotted closing down posters saying “all stock must go” and “30% off absolutely everything”.
The current manager of the branch has taken to Facebook to express her condolences.
Hannah Jones said: “Well it’s official!
“It comes with a heavy heart to say our store on Leicester High Street will be closing with the proposed date of 21st September.
“Please come in for some fantastic deals and say good bye and good luck to my amazing team.
“Leicester Blacks it’s been a pleasure.”
Hannah is not the only one who has reached out to others online to react to the sad news.
One user commented: “So Sad you put everything into building your store and team.
“Wishing you every success with what the future will bring. New roads and success for the future.”
Another said: “I’m so sorry Hannah. I have so many good memories with you there.”
Someone else replied: “So so sorry Hannah you’ve put so much hard work into this.
“Sending best wishes to you all for future adventures.”
A former employee put: “Oh my god? My first ever job – end of an era!”
Whilst the Tamworth closure is not linked to the Leicester site closing its doors, the news comes after another outdoor brand has said farewell to Leicester locals.
The Leicester branch of Millets found in Humberstone Gate was forced to shut at the end of last year with the signs stuck on the storefront recommending customers head to the site on the high street.
Despite these store closures, there is no indication that the brand is not thriving.
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.
