Major clothes retailer to triple number of store closures after miserable economic outlook

A major fashion retailer is set to close nearly three times as many stores as it originally planned to as harsh economic conditions continue to batter the high street. Select Fashion announced earlier this month that it would close 12 of its shops outside of London over the coming weeks, but has since upgraded the number to 35.

The affordable clothing retailer is expected to close the stores over the coming weeks, with trading ceasing by the middle of March at the latest. Stores earmarked for closure across the UK include outlets in Southampton, Bristol, Wolverhampton and Hartlepool.

Experts say the cull is a significant one for Select Fashion, which will see its current trading portfolio cut by almost half by the latest round of closures. The retailer fell into administration in 2019, blaming tough economic conditions on the high street, which resulted in the fashion brand’s demise.

At its peak, Select operated 169 stores before it went into administration. But following the latest round of closures only around 48 stores will still remain, the Sun reports. It comes after stores in Ipswich, Kent and Cwmbran closed their doors last year, alongside a branch in Erith Riverside Shopping Centre in London.

The latest troubles for Select Fashion follow new data that more than 13,000 shops closed their doors for good in 2024 – an increase of 28 per cent on the year before, MailOnline reported last month. Industry experts say there is worse to come, with a predicted 17,350 shops shutting in 2025.

It is the highest figure since the Centre for Retail Research (CRR), which compiled the report, began collecting the data in 2015 and follows the closure of 13,479 stores last year. The vast majority of closed shops in 2024 – 11,341 – were independent retailers, a 45.5 per cent jump against the previous year.

Last month it was reported that more than 13,000 high shops closed in 2024, which was a 28 percent increase from 2023 and foreshadows the predicted closure of 17,350 shops in 2025. The rate of store closures is the highest seen since the Centre for Retail Research (CRR) began collecting data in 2015. Of the 13,479 stores that closed in 2024, the vast majority (11,341) were independent retailers, which was a 45.5 percent increase from the previous year.

Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: ‘Whilst the results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse to come in 2025.’. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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