New Look to 'speed up' store closures due to Budget tax changes - with 90 sites 'at risk'
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New Look is set to "speed up" its store closure programme ahead of the business tax hikes announced in the Autumn Budget. The Times reported that around a quarter of the high street fashion retailer's 364 store estate are "at risk" of closure when leases expire. This equates to about 91 stores, which collectively employ around 8,000 staff members. While some of these stores would shut regardless, as leases are linked to store turnover, it is reported that this will be "accelerated" as a direct result of tax increases revealed in October’s budget.
However, New Look has not officially confirmed this plan, although it did say that it did, on occasion, have to close stores due to external reasons. They have also not confirmed the number of stores potentially at risk. A New Look spokesperson told The Times: “Our store estate is an important part of our business, alongside our best-in-class website and app. It is this omni-channel approach which allows us to best serve our 10 million customers, however they like to shop.
“We have recently invested over £3 million in our stores in Greater Manchester to trial new omni-channel initiatives to improve customer experience. Using the learnings from these trials, we are now upgrading a further 17 stores across the country.
“We also continue to invest in our thriving online platform which has resulted in a strong online sales performance, with volumes significantly outpacing last year and an improved online margin.”. “On occasion we do have to close stores, either due to the landlord’s request or because the site becomes unviable. However, we always remain on the lookout for appropriate new opportunities across the country and continue to invest in our existing store estate.”.
