Almost 50 UK shops closed for good every day in 2022, says report

Last year was a “brutal” one for Britain’s retail sector, with more shops shutting down than at any other point in the last five years, and 2023 will be similarly challenging, according to industry groups.

About 47 shops on average pulled down their shutters for the final time every day last year, according to analysis from the Centre for Retail Research (CRR). It found a total of 17,145 shops on high streets and in other locations closed for good over 2022. This is up almost 50% on the 11,449 shops closed in 2021, during the Covid pandemic.

The CRR also said that 151,474 retail jobs across the UK were lost in 2022, including those from online retailers – up 43% on the 105,727 jobs lost in the previous year.

It found 5,509 shops were closed because retailers went bust, entering some form of insolvency, while a further 11,636 were shut as part of cost-cutting programs by large retailers, or independents simply shutting up shop for good.

However, the number of store closures caused by big chains, those with 10 or more outlets, was down by 56% because most of the poor performers already collapsed in previous years. Retailers that went into administration in 2022 included the clothing chain Joules and the McColl’s convenience store chain. Next ultimately teamed up with the founder of Joules to buy it out of administration and Morrisons bought McColl’s but there were store closures and job losses in both cases.

The CRR’s director, Prof Joshua Bamfield, said: “Rather than company failure, rationalization now seems to be the main driver for closures as retailers continue to reduce their cost base at pace.” He expects this trend to continue in 2023 but added: “A few big hitters may well fail, too.”

 

 

 

The Guardian