A POPULAR high street bargain store has launched a massive “final clearance” sale after announcing its town centre branch will shut for good.
The fragrance, homeware and fashion retailer is pulling down the shutters on its Warminster branch, following a previous string of closures.
Posters have gone up in the windows of The Original Factory Shop, confirming the store is closing down permanently as part of a major shake-up by its new owners.
A storeworker has confirmed the closure to The Sun, however the store’s final closing date remains unclear.
Shoppers say they’re “gutted” by the news, with many rushing to grab last-minute bargains before the doors close for the final time.
A Facebook post announcing the closure said: “Sad news to bring you all this morning. Closing down posters have gone up in the windows of The Original Factory Shop.
“It is believed that this is as part of a company strategy plan, but this shop will be very much missed when it does close down.”
Heartbroken locals took to social media to share their disappointment.
One shopper wrote: “Such a shame, I will miss this shop.”
Another added: “Me and my husband always go in there for our shoes.”
A third said: “I loved this shop, so sad to see it go.”
More closures nationwide
This isn’t the first Original Factory Shop to shut up shop.
Last month they announced the closure of a branch in Horley, Surrey.
Back in August, the retailer revealed three more branches were closing as part of a major restructure.
Stores in Kidwelly in Carmarthenshire, Normanton in West Yorkshire and Kirkham in Lancashire have already rolled down the shutters.
The chain has been a familiar sight on UK high streets for decades, selling everything from clothing and homeware to toys and toiletries at bargain prices.
Locals will now have to travel further afield to find their nearest branch once the Horley store closes.
What’s happening with The Original Factory Shop?
TOFS was bought by Modella Capital in February which has since launched a restructuring effort to renegotiate rents at 88 of the retail chain’s stores.
Modella, a private equity firm, is known for taking on struggling retailers, having recently acquired Hobbycraft and WHSmith‘s high street shops.
Modella drew up plans to initiate a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) for TOFS at the end of April.
A CVA is a way of restructuring that means a business can continue trading while negotiating its debts, for example by cutting rent costs with landlords.
A TOFS spokesperson previously told The Press and Journal a “number of loss-making stores will have to close” as part of the CVA.
They continued: “Closing stores is always a tough decision and we are committed to keeping as many stores open as possible.
“This is, however, dependent on successful negotiations with landlords as we strive to build a sustainable and successful business for the future.”
The Original Factory Shop has already shuttered more than a dozen stores over the past 12 months.
These are the locations that closed in 2024:
- Brightlingsea, Essex
- Bodmin, Cornwall
- Chepstow, Wales
- Fakenham, Norfolk
- Harwich, Essex
- Mildenhall, Suffolk
- Padiham, Lancashire
- Taunton, Somerset
- Deal, Kent
- Haverfordwest, Wales
HIGH STREET STRUGGLES
The Original Factory Shop is not the only retailer languishing across the high street.
The retail sector has struggled for years, with thousands of shops closing across the UK.
The Centre for Retail Research has described the sector as going through a “permacrisis” since the 2008 financial crash.
In 2024 alone, more than 13,000 high street stores were shuttered for good, according to the Centre.
It is also predicting the number of store closures to rise this year, blaming the increase on a hike to employer National Insurance contributions and the national minimum wage.
RETAIL PAIN IN 2025
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.”
