A MAJOR retail chain has confirmed the closure of one of its stores, in another blow to the high street.
Next, which has around 500 branches in the UK, is closing its Huddersfield branch later this year.
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Next, which has around 500 branches in the UK, is closing its Huddersfield branchCredit: Reuters
The store in the Kingsgate Center will close in July when its lease expires, Yorkshire Live reports.
Store staff have already been informed of the plans.
A spokesperson for Next confirmed the closure: “The lease on the Kingsgate Center Next store expires in July, when it will close.
“All affected personnel are already aware of the situation.”
Locals reacted to the news of the closure on social media.
One said: “One lady has been working there for so long, she’s so lovely. I hope she’s found something else.
“Unfortunately, there’s not much left in Huddersfield to go for now.”
Another wrote: “Everywhere in Hudds is closing. One by one, too bad, loved the town!”
A third posted: “I just feel sorry for the staff.”
While a fourth commented: “Huddersfield is just a graveyard now, what a shame.
Britain’s retail apocalypse: why your favorite stores are CLOSING ALL THE TIME
“It was great when I was younger and going out on the town.”
And a fifth said: “Huddersfield town center is unpleasant – nobody wants to shop there too much.
“Kirklees council is a complete disgrace. Shame on you for allowing all this.”
“There will be nothing left in Huddersfield soon,” wrote another.
Following the closure the next nearest Next in Huddersfield will be in the Great Northern Retail Park.
It comes after customers recently shared their concerns following news of the planned closure of a KFC in Huddersfield.
The city has also recently lost BrewDog and Slug and Lettuce.
Local brewery Magic Rock also recently filed for administration, which has struck a chord with local residents.
RETAIL HURTS IN 2025
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s rise in employers’ NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3 billion.
Research by the British Chamber of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to increase prices by the beginning of April.
The survey of more than 4,800 companies found that 55% of them expect prices to rise in the next three months, compared to 39% in a similar survey conducted in the second half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of hiring people as their primary financial pressure.
The Center for Retail Research (CRR) also warned that around 17,350 retail outlets are expected to close this year.
It comes after a difficult 2024 when 13,000 stores closed their doors for good, a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR, said: “The 2024 results show that while the results for shop closures were generally not as bad as 2020 or 2022, they are still worrying and 2025 will be even worse .”
Professor Bamfield also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
“With the cost of running stores and each consumer’s household costs increasing, it is very likely that we will see retail job losses surpass the peak of the pandemic in 2020.”
Other Next news
Next plans to introduce self-service checkouts from next month in an attempt to cut additional staff costs from the budget.
The comments came after the chain warned it would have to raise store prices by 1% this year to cover the impact of the Budget’s tax raid.
Chief executive Lord Simon Wolfson told The Sun that customers would not have faced higher prices had it not been for the budget.
“It’s 1% of what would be zero,” he said.
He revealed that the retail giant will begin trial testing the checkouts in February or March as part of its efforts to cut costs and reduce the need for further price hikes.
The Next boss did not reveal how many stores, or which stores, will be selected, but confirmed that if the trial is successful, it will be rolled out nationally in the next six months.
The following revealed it faces a total increase in wage costs of £73m on an annual wage bill of £900m as a result of the budget.
The rise in the National Living Wage adds £21m to its wage costs while it faces a £20m loss from the change in employers’ National Insurance contributions and a further £6m increase from the National Insurance increase.
Next is just one of a number of retailers who have warned of the consequences for the state budget.
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Source: HIS Education