Trendy fashion chain with dozens of sites abruptly shuts city centre store after a decade on high street

A TRENDY fashion chain with dozens of UK branches has closed a city centre branch after a decade on the high street.

The York branch has shut after “everything must go” sale signs were put up in the windows.

Weird Fish has permanently closed the shop in Stonegate, in the city centre, The Examiner Live reports.

It comes after the store, which stocked a variety of menswear and womenswear, opened to the public in Spring 2015.

Shoppers' next nearest store is now in Castleford, over 23 miles away.

Loyal customers and locals have shared their disappointment after finding out the store has closed for good.

Posting on Facebook, one said: “Yet another one.”

Another said: “A shame. Had several items from there over the years.”

Another posting online said: “Gutted. I loved that shop.”

It comes after Weird Fish shut a branch in Canterbury, Kent, last year following a commercial decision.

A spokesperson from Weird Fish said at the time: “The landlord is redeveloping this unit and the adjacent one, which meant they needed the space back which didn’t work for us commercially.”

The closure came after Weird Fish took over the site from posh women's retailer Hobbs in 2022.

It's worth bearing in mind, retailers often close branches for a number of reasons like a lease coming to an end or based on low sales.

It doesn't necessarily mean a business is struggling financially or is at risk of going bust.

In fact, Weird Fish announced at the end of 2023 plans to open 10 new stores in 2024.

The chain, whose products are sold on Next's website, was operating 29 stores in November 23, but now runs 33.

Flying Eze asked Weird Fish to comment.

OTHER HIGH STREET CLOSURES

The high street has struggled in recent years as the trend towards online shopping continues.

Shoppers are increasingly turning to online retail and away from physical branches.

Higher inflation in recent years has dented wallets and purses, meaning consumers have less disposable cash too.

Meanwhile, a lot of retailers are looking to open more branches in retail parks because they're more convenient for shoppers to get to.

A recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) found fewer “out-of-town” retail sites closed in 2024 compared to the higher street.

The same report found the number of banks, chemists and pubs on the high street continues to decline too, giving shoppers less of a reason to visit the high street.

WHSmith is closing a number of stores over the coming months and turn its attention to its growing travel retail arm.

Meanwhile, charity Scope is shutting 39 stores, with all closing by the end of today (March 31).

Bosses said the chain had struggled with declining footfall and spiralling costs, including higher rents, energy bills and staff costs.

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