28,000 jobs have been lost or are at risk in the collapse of the British High Street.
It has been headlining the news for months, from Marks and Spencer’s making cuts on shops to House of Fraser finding a new buyer due to the loss of profits… it is clear that the issues with Britain’s High streets isn’t going away.
Maplin, the electrical store giant, was forced to shut its doors in February this year after it failed to find a secure sale after talks with buyers. 2,300 staff lost their jobs after a slump in the pound after the Brexit vote. This has led to a rise in stores struggling to make ends meet as Mothercare has also announced that it is to close 60 outlets, which will put 900 jobs at risk.
With people depending more and more on online deliveries, it puts an added pressure on shops staying open as people don’t have the time to go shopping.
There is also the minimum wage increase, which is undoubtedly good news for workers, but bad news for large companies who have to pay each worker at least the minimum wage, or more if they want to secure trust in their workers who will find new jobs if there is a better pay elsewhere. For this reason, there is less money being seen as ‘profit’ and used to help the company to grow and prosper.
Marks and Spencer’s
Marks and Spencer’s is by far Britain’s favourite department store. A Mark’s and Spencer’s Store can be found on almost every high street across the country and prides itself on good quality and good value for money. In November 2017, Marks and Spencer’s was forced to announce it will be closing 100 stores by 2020, with Sacha Berendi, Mark’s and Spencer’s Operational Director stating for the BBC in May that ‘closing stores isn’t easy but is vital for the future of M&S’.
The store has also highlighted it proposes to move one third of its sales online due to the change in modern society.
Since November 18, stores have been closed and 3 relocated. The 100 stores due to close include two in London and in Clacton. Some store are only proposed to closed and the company are in talks about whether or not to close more stores, including some closer to home like those in Falkirk and in the East Kilbride Shopping Centre.
House of Fraser’s
The department store chain House of Fraser’s has found itself in trouble when it announced in June that it would be closing 31 stores with over 6,000 jobs lost. The 31 stores due to close included the flagship store in Oxford Street London but the store was recently saved after agreed term with the landlord.
House of Fraser’s was bought by Sports Direct owner Mr Ashley just 1 week after it fell into administration. The company was bought for £90 million.
Head of Sports direct Mr Ashley announced that he wanted to make House of Fraser’s the ‘Harrods of the high street’, reported the BBC in August. It was later announced that the 161 store chain had owed £884 million to big brands such as Mulberry, Armani and Prada. Mulberry has lost a massive £2.4 million and Armani is owed almost £1.6 million.
House of Fraser’s might be lucky but there are others who weren’t lucky enough to save some stores with Homebase saying that they are closing 42 stores with over 1,500 jobs to be lost and Mothercare is due to close some of its outlet stores like the store in the Kingsgate Retail Park here in East Kilbride.
How will these closures affect me?
To conclude, it is apparent that Britain is depending on and using online orders more than ever before thus big department store chains are being hit hard with the ever advancing technology that we use today. I for one enjoy leisurely heading down the East Kilbride Shopping Centre to browse the latest season’s fashion lines and the sales. I have always enjoyed the mad rush seen on Television on Black Friday and the extent people go to when the latest television is on sale at half off. Unfortunately this hasn’t happened the past few years due to the growing number of online purchases. I think that we will miss going shopping if we were to lose the high street and I am sure many will agree with me.
By Anna Lloyd, Team Reporter
Sources: BBC, Financial Times, Daily Mail
