A POPULAR toy shop chain with around 160 branches across the UK is closing two stores, with one waving goodbye to customers in hours.
The Entertainer, which sells toys, puzzles and board games, is shutting the sites after three shops already closed in recent months.
Its Luton branch in the Luton Point shopping centre is shutting today, January 25.
Meanwhile, its Croydon branch in the Whitgift shopping centre will close on February 1.
Three other branches have closed in recent months in Edinburgh, Brent Cross and Haslemere.
Shoppers have taken to social media to express their dismay at the two upcoming closures.
One Croydon resident said: “What a derelict place Croydon High Street has become.”
A closing-down sale has already been launched at the branch, with the retailer offering 25% off its products.
Meanwhile, a Luton local said: “Luton is on its knees”, while another added that they were “gutted” the branch was closing.
Andrew Murphy OBE, group chief executive officer at The Entertainer, said all five stores were closing after lease agreements came to an end.
He said the Edinburgh branch had been relocated to a “stronger” location where it could pull in more trade.
It is common practice for retailers to close branches in underperforming areas and open them where they think they will see better sales.
[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”]Mr Murphy added: “Like most large national retailers, we continuously assess potential new locations while deciding whether to renew those shops which have reached the end of their lease arrangements.
“Late last year we opened what have proved to be exceptionally successful stores in Exeter and Milton Keynes, and we expect to be bringing The Entertainer to at least three and perhaps as many as six new locations this year.”
The closures come after Andrew Murphy revealed the retailer had been forced to abandon plans to open new stores.
[authenticated-scripts src=”%3Cscript%20class%3D%22palin-poll%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesun.co.uk%2Fpollingwidgets%2Fv3%2Fwidget.js%3Fquestion_id%3D103700%26game%3Dpolling%22%3E%3C%2Fscript%3E” type=”embedded” width=”100″ /]He explained the main reason for this was the government’s decision to hike employer’s National Insurance contributions.
The hike, which will taken effect from April, means businesses will have to pay more tax on their workers’ wages.
Mr Murphy previously told BBC Today: “We were just about to initiate the work, and unfortunately, the changes to National Insurance in particular just tipped that balance, so those stores will now not be opening.“
The Entertainer is just one of a number of retailers warning of the knock-on effects of the tax raid, with the national minimum wage also set to rise at the start of the new financial year.
High street fashion chain Next said earlier this month that prices at shops will rise as it passed on the extra tax costs.
It said that sales growth will pull back sharply over the year ahead “as employer tax increases, and their potential impact on prices and employment, begin to filter through into the economy”.
M&S has also said it will have to raise prices, adding they will be “small and behind the market”.
In a recent British Retail Consortium survey of 52 chief financial officers (CFOs) at major retailers 35 said they will be forced to push up prices to cope with the increase in NICs.
Meanwhile, 24 said they would have to reduce headcount in stores to cover any additional costs.
The results of the survey came after 81 retail chief executives wrote to the Chancellor to voice their concerns about the economic consequences of the Budget.
They claimed the announcements could raise the industry’s costs by more than £7billion in 2025.
At the start of the year, the Centre for Retail Research warned around 17,350 stores could close in 2025, up from 13,479 in 2024.
It said it expected the increase to come due to the hike in employer NICs and national minimum wage.
Smaller retailers are also bracing for the current discount to business rates to be lowered from 75% to 40%.
Commercial real estate firm Altus Group said it will see the average shop’s rates bill spiral from £3,589 to £8,613 from April.