A BIG shoe chain is set to vanish from a popular shopping outlet.
Pavers is pulling down the shutters at its branch inside McArthurGlen York Designer Outlet — and a huge closing down sale is already underway.
Shoppers can bag bargains while stock lasts, but it’s not yet clear when the store’s final day of trading will be.
The footwear giant, is based in York and has over 160 stores across the UK and Ireland.
It’s also unknown whether Pavers plans to relocate elsewhere in the city or what the future holds for staff working at the outlet.
The chain does still have another store open at the Coppergate Centre in York.
Last year, the family-run business got the green light for a massive £10million expansion at its Northminster Business Park HQ in Poppleton — a move set to create around 130 new jobs.
The news comes as other retailers, both independent and industry giants, continue to struggle.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Why are shops closing stores? ” 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=”6353582364112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]Dozens of shops are set to close across the country over the next couple months in the latest blow to UK high streets.
Just a few months in to 2025 and it’s already proving to be another tough year for many major brands.
Rising living costs – which mean shoppers have less cash to burn – and an increase in online shopping has battered retail in recent years.
In some cases, landlords are either unwilling or unable to invest in keeping shops open, further speeding up the closures.
[boxout headline=”RETAIL PAIN IN 2025″ intro=”The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.”]Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: “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 set to come in 2025.”
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
“By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer’s household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020.”
Last month, Essential Vintage told followers on social that it would be closing down after they had been “priced out” because of bigger players in the market such as Vinted.
Whilst, Red Menswear in Chatham in Medway, Kent, shut for the final time on Saturday, March 29, after selling men’s clothing since 1999.
Shoezone, located on Devonshire Road, has confirmed it’s final day of trading will be May 13.
New Look bosses made the decision to axe nearly 100 branches as they battle challenges linked to Autumn Budget tax changes.
Approximately a quarter of the retailer’s 364 stores are at risk when their leases expire.
This equates to about 91 stores, with a significant impact on New Look’s 8,000-strong workforce.
It’s understood the latest drive to accelerate closures is driven by the upcoming increase in National Insurance contributions for employers.
The move, announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in October, is expected to hit retailers hard – and the British Retail Consortium has predicted these changes will create a £2.3billion bill for the sector.
Meanwhile, the WHSmith brand name looks set to vanish from British high streets after 230 years.