A POPULAR high street retailer has announced a closure of yet another store.
The British fashion giant has previously axed 13 of its locations.
1
In a major blow to high street, New Look has shared it will shut doors of one of its Leicestershire stores.
Hinckley branch, in The Britannia Centre, in Stockwell Head will seize operating on Tuesday, December 9.
A spokesperson said: “We would like to thank all of our colleagues and the local community for their support over the years.
“We hope customers continue to shop with us online, where our full product ranges can be found.”
Customers can still shop New Look at the remaining three stores -in Market Harborough, in Leicester‘s Highcross Shopping Centre and at Fosse Shopping Park.
The retailer, which operates 338 stores across the UK, is set to shut over a dozen locations by the end of 2025.
The brand’s Scarborough branch closed its doors for the final time on September 17.
Wales saw another branch of the clothing of the popular fashion retailer shut up shop in August.
The first New Look shop to close in 2025 was the Wickford branch in Essex.
Other locations given the chop include Loughborough, St Austell, Cornwall, and at Team Valley Retail World in Gateshead.
This brings the total of closures to 13 this year across the UK with a further 26 in Ireland.
Previously, the firm previously warned it would close nearly 100 stores ahead of National Insurance hikes which came into place in April.
Approximately a quarter of the retailer’s 364 stores are at risk when their leases expire.
In the last six years, the company has already undergone two restructures across its chain of stores.
New Look’s axed stores
- New Look, Scarborough – closed September 17
- New Look, Neath, Wales – closed August 6
- New Look, Hamilton, Scotland – closed July 1
- New Look, Birmingham, Northfield shopping centre – closed June 8
- New Look, Willow Place, Corby – closed June 1
- New Look Bexleyheath, London, closed April 19
- New Look, Preston, closed March 20
- New Look, Valley Retail World in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear – closed March 9
- St Austell branch in Cornwall – closed March 4
- New Look, Porth, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales – closed February 22
- New Look, Wickford, Essex – closed January 24
- New Look, Carillon Court Shopping Centre Loughborough, closed January 21.
- New Look, Devizes, Wiltshire – closed
New Look has nearly cut its high street presence in the last five years, after operating 600 stores in 2018.
However, it’s not all bad news as the company is investing in upgrading the existing stores across the country.
Back in April, the fashion chain received a cash investment of over £30million to help grow its online division.
More than 40% of the group’s income is generated online, as customers continue to favour digital shopping over heading to a physical branch.
A spokesperson explained: “Our store estate is an important part of our business, alongside our best-in-class website and app.
“It is this omni-channel approach which allows us to best serve our 10 million customers, however, they like to shop.
“We have recently invested over £3 million in our stores in Greater Manchester to trial new omni-channel initiatives to improve customer experience.
They added: “Using the learnings from these trials, we are now upgrading a further 17 stores across the country.”
“We also continue to invest in our thriving online platform, which has resulted in a strong online sales performance, with volumes significantly outpacing last year and an improved online margin.”
