B&M has announced the closure of one of its stores as shoppers mourn the loss of the budget retailer’s popular branch.
The bargain retailer will cease trading at one of its Scotland stores in a matter of months, in another huge blow to the high street.
1
The Musselburgh branch will cease trading on January 9 2026, B&M has confirmed.
Instead, the focus will switch to the nearby store at Fort Kinnaird.
All staff at the East Lothian site will be relocated to alternative stores in the area.
Customers were quick to share their disappointment on social media, as one user wrote: “Shocking news.”
While another saddened shopper added: “Such a shame.”
A spokesperson for the retail chain said: “All colleagues from this store will be offered employment at local B&M stores in the surrounding area after the closure on January 9.
“We’re committed to bringing the best possible B&M stores to East Lothian and recently upgraded our nearby Fort Kinnaird store – now home to a garden centre and a much bigger range just two miles away, ensuring we continue to offer the best possible shopping experience and broadest range in the area.”
This comes after The Sun reported another B&M store closure earlier this year.
The retailer pulled down the shutters on a London location on March 29, after a closure notice was put up on the store window.
Customers were left devastated after finding out the branch would be closing its doors for good.
One said: “All our neighbours are absolutely gutted; you can get everything there from Christmas decorations to food, toiletries, paint and garden plants.
“It’s a bit no-frills but it has some absolute bargains in there.”
Another dejectedly added on Facebook: “I love that shop, lots of nice things.”
B&M isn’t the only popular retailer facing store closures.
Poundland has also announced a string of closures this month, in another blow to the high street.
The budget retailer has confirmed the locations of 48 store closures this month, with more planned for September.
The closures come as Polish owner Pepco Group sold Poundland to US investment firm Gordon Brothers for £1 after a downturn in trading.
Major restructuring plans have followed which include the closure of a whopping 68 stores by mid-October.
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.
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.”
