A POPULAR supermarket will close its doors for the last time today in a fresh blow to shoppers.
Farmfoods at The Calthorpe Centre on Calthorpe Street in Banbury will close for good today.
The Scottish grocery and frozen food chain has more than 300 shops in the UK.
Rumours about the closure began to circulate online at the start of the year with speculation that staff could be made redundant.
A spokesperson confirmed the closure last month, adding: “I confirm our shop at the Calthorpe Centre, Banbury will permanently close on February 2 following a 50 per cent sale.
“We’re grateful to all customers who have shopped with us during our time trading from the property and hope to open a new shop elsewhere in the town in future.”
The company did not provide any further details about when this branch may open.
It is unclear how many staff have been let go or why the store is closing.
The news comes just a few months after another Farmfoods store closed its doors for good, leaving loyal shoppers devastated.
The Sutton branch of the chain closed its doors on October 4 after more than a decade in the town.
A spokesperson said the closure is due to the landlord intending to redevelop the land the building sits on.
They added that the chain will look for suitable opportunities to reopen in Sutton in future.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Toys R Us and other brands that are making a comeback” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6351810018112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]Meanwhile, reports suggest a Farmfoods in the Brunel Centre, Bletchley, will close for good on February 23.
[authenticated-scripts src=”%3Cscript%20class%3D%22palin-poll%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesun.co.uk%2Fpollingwidgets%2Fv3%2Fwidget.js%3Fquestion_id%3D105221%26game%3Dpolling%22%3E%3C%2Fscript%3E” type=”embedded” width=”100″ /]Retailers close branches here and there for a number or reasons, like a lease for the location may come to an end.
Other examples of one-off rather than widespread closures is if there are changes in the area, like a shopping centre closing, and in some cases a shop will close to relocate to another area.
Some chains have faced tougher conditions though, forcing them to shut dozens of stores, or all of them in the worst case.
Farmfoods sales surpassed £1billion for the first time in 2023, the most recent accounts available for the supermarket show.
According to the annual figures published in July last year, sales jumped 8% to £1.09billion in the 12 months to December 2023, from £940million on the 12 months before that.
Profits before tax increased to £23million, up from £22.2million the year before.
At the same time it said that it had made significant investment in opening new retail stores, adding 24 locations in 2023, and the number of staff increased to 4,971 from 4,767.
What other shops are closing?
Stationery chain WHSmith will close its stores in Bournemouth and Basingstoke this month.
The Basingstoke shop closed for good on February 1, while the Winton branch in Bournemouth will shut its doors on February 15.
The news comes after the retailer closed its Boscombe branch in the same town in June 2024.
WHSmith has shuttered 11 stores since March 2023, including sites in Somerset, Sale, Manchester and Bicester.
The chain is planning to expand its travel arm with new shops in railway stations, airports and hospitals.
Homesense is also set to close a store this month.
The Salisbury branch will shut for good during the week of February 24.
The homeware company is part of TJX International, which owns TK Maxx.
A spokesperson for the store told customers: “We look forward to welcoming you to TK Maxx Salisbury in Cross Keys Arcade, where you can continue to find high-quality, top-brand homeware, fashion, gifts, and children’s wear at amazing value.”
Lidl has reportedly submitted plans to take over the vacant Homesense store.
Meanwhile, H&M-owned fashion chain Monki will shutter seven UK stores this year.
It has already shut its Newcastle store on January 2 and its Arndale branch on January 12, 2025.
H&M has said some of the stores could be merged with trendy fashion brand Weekday.
The Scandinavian retailer wants to merge the two stores to make a one-stop shop that appeals to young shoppers.
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