New Look confirms store closure with 90 UK branches ‘at risk’ in major plans
Share:
New Look has confirmed the first of a raft of store closures bosses are said to have ordered in response to Labour tax changes. The fashion giant has been planning to trim its high street presence for some time. But it reportedly increased the number of planned closures after the Autumn budget, which will ramp up employers’ National Insurance contributions and minimum wage bills from April onwards.
![[Pedestrians pass a New Look fahsion store, operated by New Look Retail Group Ltd., on Oxford Street in London, U.K., on Thursday, Sep. 17, 2020. U.K. retail sales extended their recovery in August as a government initiative to boost the hospitality industry lured locked-down Britons out to the shops. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_235167840-cad6.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Of the chain’s 364 shops, around 90 are ‘at risk’ when their leases expire, The Times reported last week. The first to get the chop is New Look’s Wickford branch in Essex, which will close on January 24 after 15 years of trading. While the closure came at the request of the landlord, New Look has not announced any plans to replace the store.
![[TOPSHOT-BRITAIN-POLITICS-ECONOMY-BUDGET-GOVERNMENT]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-2181235828.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=594)
A spokesperson invited customers to ‘continue to shop with us at our nearby Basildon store’, adding: ‘We would like to thank all of our colleagues and the local community for their support over the years.’. The high street brand has already restructured its UK store estate twice in the past six years — a decrease from around 600 outlets in 2018.
Stores remain open for the time being, with no final decisions regarding closures having been made. The move is said to have been prompted by the rise in employment costs announced by the Chancellor Rachel Reeves in October. A New Look spokesperson told Metro: ‘Our store estate is an important part of our business, alongside our best-in-class website and app.
