1 month ago
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A BELOVED town centre fashion store is set to shut for the final time today, leaving locals “devastated”.
The major fashion chain has 62 branches across the country and has served shoppers for more than a decade.
AlamyJoules in Salisbury is set to draw its blinds for good[/caption]
Shoppers in Salisbury will need to be quick if they are hoping to make the most of their local Joules as the store is set to roll down its shutters today.
The lifestyle retailer posted a notice on the shop window of the New Canal Street branch two weeks ago.
This confirmed the closure would take place on Easter Monday.
It read: “This store is closing. We’ve taken the decision to close this store on April 21.
“We’d like to thank you for supporting us over the years.
“And remember, you can always find us online at joules.com.”
Shocked customers took to Facebook to express their disappointment.
One person wrote: “Another shop closing! Salisbury needs to wake up before it dies in its sleep. Parking is too expensive and the restrictions too extensive!”
Another complained: “Sad, another good shop leaving the city, soon won’t be any left that are worth a visit.”
Founder and chief executive Tom Joule confirmed that the closure was a “difficult decision” but was inevitable “after a thorough review of retail operations.”
The Salisbury store is among several affected following the company’s financial restructuring.
After falling into administration the brand was bought out in 2023 by Next for a deal worth £34million.
Next secured the jobs of 1,450 workers and 100 stores.
However, a total of 19 shops closed their doors for good.
At the time, Next’s chief executive Lord Simon Wolfson said he was optimistic about the future of the brand, highlighting the potential in combining Joules’ “exceptional product, marketing and brand building skills with Next’s Total Platform infrastructure”.
At its peak, Joules had 132 stores and employed 1,600 people.
Shoppers can browse the entire Joules collection on its website.
Why are retailers closing stores?
RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
However, additional costs have added further pain to an already struggling sector.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs from April will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40.
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.”
It comes after almost 170,000 retail workers lost their jobs in 2024.
End-of-year figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research showed the number of job losses spiked amid the collapse of major chains such as Homebase and Ted Baker.
It said its latest analysis showed that a total of 169,395 retail jobs were lost in the 2024 calendar year to date.
This was up 49,990 – an increase of 41.9% – compared with 2023.
It is the highest annual reading since more than 200,000 jobs were lost in 2020 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced retailers to shut their stores during lockdowns.
The centre said 38 major retailers went into administration in 2024, including household names such as Lloyds Pharmacy, Homebase, The Body Shop, Carpetright and Ted Baker.
Around a third of all retail job losses in 2024, 33% or 55,914 in total, resulted from administrations.
Experts have said small high street shops could face a particularly challenging 2025 because of Budget tax and wage changes.
Professor Bamfield has 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.”
What other brands has Next rescued?
And it is not the first time that retail giant Next has taken over a struggling business.
Made.com was rescued from administration in 2022.
Now, Made.com has opened its first brick-and-mortar store since being acquired.
The fashion giant also recently snapped up retailer Fatface for a whopping £115.2million.
Next’s growing list of retail acquisitions and cement the group as one of the most prolific buyers of rival high street fashion chains.
In 2023 Cath Kidston was bought by Next after falling into administration.
Next started selling Gap clothing online in late 2021, after it took over the running of the high street brand.
It then started selling Gap clothing in stores in early 2022.
It also agreed a sale to buy struggling lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret in a move that saved its UK shops and website.
Earlier in 2022, it took a stake in baby and maternity clothing retailer JoJo Mama Bebe.
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AlamyIt is not the first time that retail giant Next has taken over a struggling business[/caption] 
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