SOME stores will be missing from the high street when non-essential shops reopen today.
Non-essential retail can reopen today under Boris Johnson’s roadmap out of lockdown – and 20 million Brits are expected to hit the shops.
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But some household names, such as Debenhams, have had to shut up shops for good as the Covid crisis continues to ravage the retail sector.
Stores considered to be non-essential have repeatedly had to close at short notice throughout the pandemic due to lockdown restrictions.
Industry leaders said the crisis has been the “worst time ever for retail”, warning that one in five high street stores plan to close permanently.
Losses have lead to shops axing tens of thousands of jobs over the past year in the struggle for survival.
Here’s a list of shops that have had to shrink their number of stores – or even close for forever:
Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge
Once the go-to store for fashionable teens, Topshop was often considered the jewel in the crown of Philip Green’s retail empire.
But it collapsed in November when parent company Arcadia fell into administration.
ASOS bought Topshop, alongside Topman and Miss Selfridge, earlier this month as part of a £330million deal to save the brands.
But ASOS didn’t buy the physical shops as part of the deal, and 2,450 shop workers face redundancy.
You can still shop at Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge online on ASOS’ website.
ASOS has spent millions of pounds on a social media campaign to tell customers it has taken over the brands.
It is also launching new Topshop and Topman products over the course of this month.
Dorothy Perkins, Wallis, Burton
Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton also collapsed in November when Philip Green’s Arcadia empire went into administration.
Hot on the heels of its Debenhams takeover, Boohoo swooped in on all three shops, buying their brands and websites as part of a £25.3million deal this month.
However, Boohoo didn’t buy the physical shops, which means a total of 214 stores will close forever, putting 2,450 jobs at risk.
Announcing the deal, Boohoo said it aims to integrate the three brands onto its own platform by early May.
You can still shop online now on each of the brands’ own websites.
Debenhams
The big name department store officially entered administration in April last year.
It then went into liquidation in December after JDSports pulled out of rescue talks to save the 241-year-old retailer.
Boohoo swooped in to buy the Debenhams name and website in a £55million deal last month – but not its 124 stores.
Around 12,000 jobs were also lost as a result.
You will initially be able to shop in stores from today when lockdown lifts for non-essential, as the retailer will continue to clear stock in its shops before shutting them forever.
You can still keep shopping online at Debenhams.
Boohoo said it will rebuild and relaunch the retailer’s website and expand the range of products it sells.
John Lewis – some branches to close
Some of John Lewis’ stores will close forever as the department store giant looks to slim down its number of shops.
It confirmed in August last year that eight stores will never reopen – putting 1,300 jobs at risk.
In April, it announced another eight stores will close permanently.
Aldo
Shoe retailer Aldo collapsed into administration at the beginning of June last year and announced that five stores will remain permanently closed.
Administrators, RSM, were appointed, and in September, Bushell Investment Group bought Aldo, following the opening of three additional stores.
Customers in the UK can continue to purchase Aldo footwear from its online platform, as they have done throughout the coronavirus crisis.
We’ve asked Aldo for an update on whether it will reopen more stores and we will update you as soon as we can.
Antler
Luxury luggage brand Antler went into administration in mid-May last year, with the loss of 164 jobs out of a 200-strong workforce.
