A MAJOR retailer has confirmed a total of eight further store closures following a string of 16 last year.
Dobbies garden centre has confirmed a second wave of closures across the UK, with the next branch shutting tomorrow.
It comes after the gardening specialist closed 16 stores as part of a restructuring plan late last year.
Locations impacted in this round of closures include stores in Aylesbury, Havant and Northampton.
Five shops have already shut their doors throughout January.
Two of the shops, Morpeth and Stapleton, had been earmarked for closure already but shut their doors for the last time in mid January.
Now at least three more sites are set to close over the coming months.
Its branch in Rothley, Leicester, will close tomorrow after it launched a giant up to 70% off closing down sale.
The site will shutter permanently on February 14 with a message on the retailer’s website thanking customers “for your support”.
Meanwhile, its branch in Northampton will be taken over by British Garden Centres, a family run business, with the action expected to be completed by March.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Britain’s retail apocalypse: why your favourite stores KEEP closing down” 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=”6339711979112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]The Aylesbury store will also pull down the shutters although no date has been confirmed.
The full list of stores which have closed or are set to close are:
- Rugby – closed 19 January
- Stapleton – closed 19 January
- Morpeth – closed 19 January
- Havant – closed 19 January
- Hare Hatch – closed 31 January
- Leicester– closing 14 February
- Northampton – no confirmed closure date
- Aylesbury – no confirmed closure date
Confirming the Northampton closure, a spokesperson for Dobbies Garden Centres, said: “Dobbies Garden Centres confirms that its Northampton store will close. We are engaging directly with colleagues at the store on what the closure will mean for them.
“This follows approval of Dobbies’ restructuring plan in December 2024, which allows the business to focus on returning to sustainable profitability, unlock access to future investment and deliver a strong and well capitalised platform for the business going forward.”
[authenticated-scripts src=”%3Cscript%20class%3D%22palin-poll%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesun.co.uk%2Fpollingwidgets%2Fv3%2Fwidget.js%3Fquestion_id%3D106572%26game%3Dpolling%22%3E%3C%2Fscript%3E” type=”embedded” width=”100″ /]Which stores have already closed?
It comes after a big restructuring plan was given the go ahead by the courts in December last year.
The retailer shut a total of 10 larger sites as part of the plans, with two stores confirmed to be taken over by other gardening chains.
Here is the list of 10 Dobbies stores which shut last year:
- Altrincham – December 17
- Gloucester – December 15
- Gosforth – December 19
- Harlestone Heath – December 17
- Huntingdon – no date given
- Inverness – December 23
- King’s Lynn – December 15
- Pennine – December 15
- Reading – December 23
- Stratford-upon-Avon on – December 23
This was on top of the closure of six Little Dobbies locations, including sites in Richmond and Chiswick that took place in November.
This is the full list of Little Dobbies stores that closed:
- Bristol
- Richmond
- Cheltenham
- Edinburgh Stockbridge
- Chiswick
- Westbourne Grove
DIY and garden centre chains struggle
The retail sector has been hit hard in recent years, with a number of chains closing physical branches across the UK.
DIY and garden centre retailers have not been immune, with big name brand Homebase falling into administration last year.
Earlier this month, administrators confirmed 33 Homebase branches would close in February alone after 13 shut last month.
Meanwhile, last Spring, Kingfisher, which owns B&Q and Screwfix, revealed its annual profits had slumped by more than a quarter.
The company reported a 25.1% drop in underlying pre-tax profits to £568million for the year to January 31, 2024.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) predicts over 17,000 shops will close this year as businesses tackle an increase in employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and the national minimum wage.