AN ICONIC lingerie chain has suddenly shut its only store country-wide after nearly a decade.
The hugely popular clothing, pyjama and underwear store announced in will no longer have a physical store in the entire country.
Lingerie company Victoria’s Secret has closed its only store in after nine years – with the shutters going up on its branch in Cardiff.
It follows the announcement of across the US where it is estimated that there will be approximately 20-35 store closures this year in the company's latest fourth quarter earnings report.
The store opened in 2016 after many months of excitement in the busy St David's shopping centre – and customers were disappointed when it suddenly shut this weekend.
Mum Julie Cohen, 42, said: “It is a real shame. It was always a lovely place to go – and my husband loved coming on the shopping trip with me too.”
Although there is no further of any more UK closures, Victoria's Secret closed more than 300 stores between 2020 and 2023 in the US.
The company has not commented on the store closure.
In March 2024, the company closed their flagship store in Birmingham‘s Bullring after a nine-year stay.
In the quarterly report, the company shared that they are planning to open 15 to 17 new stores in , mostly in the Store of the Future design in off-mall locations, estimating around 30 to 40 store closures in 2025.
There have been challenges and controversies for the company over the years, including a much-talked about Vogue interview with Ed Razek, who is the former chief marketing officer for L Brands where he developed the Victoria’s Secret Angels.
In the interview, he said that they “attempted”; to do a special featuring plus-sized models in 2000, but added “No one had any interest, and they still don’t.”;
Customers are gutted to see the Welsh flagship store vanish and many have taken social media to express their disappointment .
One wrote: “It's so sad seeing all the shops closing.”
Another agreed: “It's sad to see another shop go in , but they do have an online shop.”
A third user wrote “Omg nooo!!!” with a friend responding “I'm gutted.”
WHY ARE RETAILERS CLOSING SHOPS
Flying Eze's business editor explained that, in many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.
Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open.
The has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs from April 2025, 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.
In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.
The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.
Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Carpetright, Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Paperchase, Ted Baker, The Body Shop, and Wilko to name a few.
What's increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
