A HUGE outdoor department chain is closing a store within days – and it’s launched a massive closing down sale.
Decathlon is closing its branch in the Westwood Cross Shopping Centre in Broadstairs, Kent.
It will shut on February 17, leaving Kent without any Decathlon stores, with the next nearest branch located in the Lakeside shopping centre in Thurrock, Essex.
The store, which sells a range of sports equipment and outdoor wear, sits above the Tesco Extra.
The retailer said it is rewarding loyal customers by launching a closing down sale before the store shuts for good next week, although it is not yet clear how much items are reduced by.
Staff are also understood to be being offered new roles within Decathlon.
Locals have taken to social media to share their frustration at the closure, with one saying: “Anything in westwood withers and disappears.”
Another said: “That didn’t last long at all”, while a third added: “Another one bites the dust”.
However, some local residents said they “weren’t surprised” by the closure as Decathlon “doesn’t appeal to the average customer” in the area.
In a statement to local outlet The Isle of Thanet News, a spokesperson for Decathlon said: “It was not an easy decision to close our Broadstairs store, which has proudly served the local community for over three years.
“Our priority now is to support our team members during this transition and offer them new roles within Decathlon should they wish to continue with us.
“To reward our loyal customers, we’ve launched a closing sale, offering a wide range of quality sports equipment at lower prices before the store closes on February 17.”
The Sun has contacted Decathlon for further comment and we will update this story if we hear more.
Decathlon has more than 1,000 stores across Europe, but only around 50 left in the UK, according to its website.
The French sporting goods retailer tends to operate out of large department stores in retail parks or shopping malls, or operates shops inside large supermarkets such as Asda superstores or Tesco Extras.
Last October, it told The Sun that it was broadly reviewing its store network which had led to some closures.
The chain’s store in Forge Retail Park in Telford closed on November 3 last year.
It comes as shop closures have rocked high streets across the UK over the past few years.
There are many reasons a shop might choose to shut a branch, for example the lease might come to an end or it might make sense to move to another location.
But a number of retailers have been hit by reduced footfall and a rise in online shopping since the pandemic, meaning they make less money from physical stores than they used to.
This has been coupled with higher rents, electricity bills and staff costs, which have made it even more expensive to stay open, leading to an increase in closures.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.