Exact date supermarket chain with 1,400 branches is closing 'run down' flagship store | The Sun
A MAJOR supermarket chain with 1,400 branches is closing a flagship store within days.
Sainsbury's is closing its Whitgift Centre store in Croydon after 54 years of operation this weekend.
The store which has been located in the shopping centre since 1969 will close for the final time on Saturday, October 14.
A sign at the entrance to the store now reads: "This store will be permanently closed from 15 October.
"Your nearest alternative store is West Croydon Station Local."
When it opened 54 years ago, it was the chain's largest site in the country.
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But dwindling footfall to the run-down shopping centre, and with plans by owners Westfield to build a new site, the store has been dealt a death knell.
And with five other smaller convenience stores in the area, the retail giant has now confirmed the store was destined for closure.
Shoppers aren't overly surprised about the store's closure with many calling the site run down online.
One person left a recent Google Review of the shop and said: "Not enough staff.
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"A long queue for the self-service checkout. The store is due to close soon so has an air of being run down – a pity as it used to be a great store."
Another said: "The staff is very friendly and helpful. Unfortunately, it's a little bit run down, perhaps because it's closing down in a few months."
Sainsbury's described their decision to close their Whitgift Centre store as "difficult".
A spokesperson for the supermarket said: "In May we announced that we had made the difficult decision to close our Central Croydon Superstore in The Whitgift Centre and this Saturday will be its last day of trading.
"We understand this is an unsettling time for those affected and since the store’s closure was announced, we have been supporting our colleagues however we can, including exploring opportunities for redeployment within Sainsbury's.
"When the store closes our customers will be able to continue shopping with us at a number of nearby Sainsbury's stores, including our West Croydon Station Local, George Streel Local and Croydon High Street Local stores."
Lloyds Pharmacy announced earlier this year that it would close all 237 of its pharmacies in Sainsbury's.
Argos, which is owned by Sainsbury's, has a plan to close 100 stores across the UK in 2023/24.
The homeware retailer has already closed a number of its UK stores as part of its plan to move away from the high street.
Argos is moving many standalone stores into bigger Sainsbury's supermarkets as part of its strategy.
It closed seven stores in August in:
- St Stephen's Shopping Centre, Hull
- Grimsby
- Scunthorpe
- Riverside, Norwich
- Parc Plaza, Bridgend
- Cardiff Bay
- Newport Road, Cardiff
It also closed all of its 34 stores in the Republic of Ireland on June 24.
By March 2024, Sainsbury's expects to have 160 standalone Argos stores and between 430 and 460 Argos counters inside Sainsbury's supermarkets.
Retailers have been feeling the pinch since the pandemic while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to soaring inflation.
High energy costs and a shift to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
The inability to renegotiate rents and agreements with landlords also puts pressure on some retailers to pull out of some locations.
However, some big brands are expanding the number of stores they operate.
Poundland has recently opened dozens of new stores.
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These openings form part of the retailer's plans to bring the shutters up on 50 new stores by the end of the year.
B&M is also opening more than a dozen new branches across the UK by the end of 2023.
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