Huge charity shop chain to shut 41 shops in DAYS in big blow to high street

A HUGE charity shop will shut 41 shops in days in a big blow to the high street.

Scope, a disability charity in England and Wales, warned back in January that it could close a number of its 138 stores

At the time, thecharity’s bosses said the decision was being considered in the face of declining footfallon high streets and spiralling costs.

Chief executive Mark Hodgkinson said external factors had “made trading harder”;.

The chain has faced rising rents, soaringenergycosts, increased staff costs and thecost of livingsqueezing customers.

He said: “As a result, and to ensure our funds are best focused upon our charitable purpose, we have let our teams know that we will be putting forward proposals to close some of our shops, in stages, over the next 18 months.”;

The proposal suggested the first 41 shops could close by March 31, 2025.

A further 31 shops would then shut between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026.

The final phase of five more shops would shut when their leases come up for renewal or when there is a break.

Scope has already closed at least 22 underperforming shops in locations including Haywards Heath and Southampton.

A number of stores have already confirmed plans to shut up shop.

That includes its branch in Binford Place, Bridgwater, which will shut its doors for good on March 29.

Its branch in Castleford closed on March 17 in a blow to locals, while its branch in Haywards Heath also shut on the same day.

Another store closed by the branch includes its shop in Newport, and its branch in Bishop Auckland closed at the start of the month.

It has been widely reported that the following stores will close by March 31.

These include:

• Amersham
• Bangor
• Barking
• Beckenham
• Bexhill
• Bishop Auckland
• Bridgwater
• Castleford
• Christchurch
• Cambourne
• Devizes
• Dewsbury
• Eastbourne
• Ely
• Gillingham HS
• Halstead
• Haywards Heath
• Hertford
• Hinckley
• Kendal
• Lewisham
• Llandudno
• March
• Mitcham
• Morley
• New Milton
• Nuneaton
• Oadby
• Orpington
• Parkstone
• Petersfield
• Pwllheli
• Rochdale
• Scarborough
• Scunthorpe
• Shirley (Birmingham)
• Shirley (Southampton)
• Skipton
• Stourbridge
• Wednesbury
• Welling

Flying Eze has contacted Scope for comment.

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 Look is ramping up a store closure programme ahead of April's National Insurance hike.

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.