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Beloved high street retailer to shut for good as it launches huge 50% off closing down sale

Published on March 28, 2025 at 04:53 PM

Britain's retail apocalypse: why your favourite stores KEEP closing down

A BELOVED high street retailer is to shut its doors for good after launching a 50% closing down sale.

The Nest gift shop in Broughshane announced it would be closing after a decade in the village in County Antrim.

Dozens have shared their disappointment that the shop in County Antrim will close

Ahead of its closure the gift shop has cut prices by 50% across its range, including women's clothes and accessories, home décor, jewellery and more.

Owner Linda revealed her retirement plans last month in a social media post.

She said: “After 10 wonderful years of sharing beautiful home décor, unique gifts, and special moments with you all, it’s time for me to step into a new chapter. I have decided to retire and spend more time with my family.

“The Nest journey has been filled with so much joy, creativity, and connection, and I’m beyond grateful to every single one of you who has supported my small business — whether you’ve shopped with us, shared kind words, or simply stopped by to say hello.

“As we prepare to close, I’d love for you to come and visit the shop again!”

Dozens of the shop's fans have shared their disappointment at its closure.

Writing on social media one said: “Your shop was a delight to go into!! I will miss that special place to call in and see what you had that caught my eye!”

Another added: “Such a beautiful shop… you will be very much missed. Wishing you a wonderful retirement and a new chapter.”

A third commented: “Broughshane won’t be the same without your beautiful shop, from the lights outside ushering you into a warm welcome with so many lovely things in every corner. Wishing you a happy and long retirement.”

A fourth well wisher said: “Your shop is one of the most beautiful shops I have ever been in. I only discovered it last year and wish I had known about it sooner. Best wishes for your next chapter and enjoy every moment of it.”

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Another added: “I will miss your little treasure trove, but enjoy time to yourself now.”

A further fan added: “I’m so sorry to see you close my most favourite place to visit!

“Linda you are the sweetest friendly lady. God bless you in your retirement!”

Towns and cities have seen many shops disappear from high streets following tough years for retail.

The last few months have also seen retailers Dobbies and Homebase close their stores in County Antrim.

And, while The Nest's closure is a result of Linda's retirement, many are concerned for the future of their local areas.

Earlier this week a vintage shop in Ipswich, Suffolk, announced that it would be closing down after it was “priced out” because of bigger players in the market such asVinted.

A family owned homeware shop in Worcestershire also shut its doors after 100 years of serving locals, with the owner saying the “immense pressure” ofeconomic conditionshad left it unable to stay afloat.

And just this morning it was announced that WHSmith would close up to 20 stores ahead of a major rebrand which will see the newsagent leave the high street forever.

TROUBLE ON THE HIGH STREET

Plenty of other retailers are closing stores across the high street as households lean more towards online shopping and amid high business rates.

Soaring inflation in recent years has also dented shoppers' pockets.

The Centre for Retail Research's latest analysis suggests 13,479 stores, the equivalent of 37 each day, shut for good in 2024.

Of those, 11,341 were independent shops while 2,138 were shut by larger retailers.

The data also showed over half the stores that closed last year were shut due to the store or retailer going through insolvency proceedings.

This is when formal measures are taken to deal with tackling a business's debt.

Retailers are also shutting stores in 2025.

New Lookis ramping up a store closure programme ahead of April's NationalInsurancehike.

Approximately a quarter of the retailer's 364 stores are at risk when their leases expire.

This equates to about 91 stores, with a significant impact on its 8,000-strong workforce.

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.

Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than halfofcompanies plan to raise prices by early April.

A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.

Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.

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, withworse 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.”

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