The closing shop chains thread...

[dutchman]

Halfords has closed at Airport Retail Park on London Road



A Coventry Halfords has closed for good after failing to renew the lease on the building, a decision they say was made with "careful consideration". Halfords has closed at Orchard Retail Park, known as Airport Retail Park, on London Road.

Bosses confirmed that the city store closed on Friday, May 10. Staff have been offered roles at other branches in the region, Halfords said.

Halfords told CoventryLive that they chose not to renew the lease on the premises following "careful consideration". Customers can find their nearest Halfords on Foleshill Road and Newtown Road in Nuneaton.

A spokesman for Halfords said: “We can confirm Halfords at Orchard Retail Park permanently closed on Friday, May 10. We are working hard to support all of those affected and have been able to offer all colleagues roles at alternative locations.

“We would like to thank all our customers for their support of the Halfords at Orchard Retail Park and look forward to welcoming them at Halfords on Newtown Road in Nuneaton and Halfords on Foleshill Road located within a 42-minute drive.”

[dutchman]

Shuropody in Coventry city centre set to shut down



A specialist footwear store in Coventry is set to close down. Shuropody, located in West Orchards, has posters on their front windows that the store is having a 'closing down sale' with up to 50% off footwear.

The store stocks a range of comfortable footwear that has been designed and developed by senior podiatrists to ensure maximum foot healthcare. Brands include Rieker, Josef Seibel, Strive, and many more.

Shuropody includes "highly-trained" staff who help customers select the "very best" footwear. As the company is the UK's largest podiatry business, they have fully qualified HCPC-registered podiatrists or FHPs in-store to advise on foot care issues.

The news comes after the retailer went into administration in December 2022, and was sold to a subsidiary of BAAJ Capital. The company currently owns 39 stores across the UK but has suffered recent closures in Salisbury and Harrogate in May 2024.

Shuropody Coventry has a 4.2-star rating on Google reviews, with many positive experiences from customers - and it will be missed. One customer said: "Absolutely lovely place, great customer service, staff always friendly and willing to help. Been back a few times and never had any problems."

Annie Field agreed and added: "Very impressed with the quick and professional service I received. My feet feel very comfortable. Very attentive staff throughout. The treatment area allows a good degree of privacy from customers who are just browsing the shop."

It has not been yet confirmed when the Coventry store is set to close.

[dutchman]

Latest Boots store closures in Coventry and Warwickshire as troubled firm to close more shops



Retailer Boots will be shutting dozens of stores this year following a string of closures in Coventry and Warwickshire. It is continuing with cost-cutting plans to shut down hundreds of branches, with the number of UK stores set to be slashed by around 300.

A number of city-based branches have already closed for good, including Boots on Moseley Avenue, Daventry Road, and Jardine Crescent. Stores have also closed on All Saints Square in Bedworth and Clock Towers Shopping Centre in Rugby.

In June 2023, Walgreens Boots Alliance said it would close 300 UK pharmacies over the following year as part of plans to save £618m. Boots confirmed to The Pharmaceutical Journal that the small number of pharmacies yet to close would be shutting for good by the end of 2024.

On the Boots UK website, it says they currently have 2,100 stores in the UK. In its quarterly financial statement, Walgreens Boots Alliance said its cost-saving plan included the closure of 'up to 650 Boots stores' in the UK.

It added that 581 of these stores had closed as of May 31, 2024, with another 69 set to close this year, reports YorkshireLive. All of the remaining pharmacies to close are part of plans already announced and are not additional pharmacy closures, it is understood.

Tim Wentworth, Chief Executive of Walgreens Boots Alliance, said: “We continue to face a difficult operating environment, including persistent pressures on the US consumer and the impact of recent marketplace dynamics, which have eroded pharmacy margins. Our results and outlook reflect these headwinds, despite solid performance in both our international and US healthcare segments.”

Mr Wentworth continued: “Informed by our strategic review, we are focused on improving our core business of retail pharmacy, which is central to the future of healthcare. We are addressing critical issues with urgency and working to unlock opportunities for growth.”

[dutchman]

Two local Carpetright stores rescued but others are still at risk of closing



A local Carpetright store has been saved in a rescue deal with Bensons for Beds - although others are still at risk of closing. Bensons has bought 19 former Carpetright stores, including the one in Solihull.

Last month the brand, the UK’s largest carpet retailer, fell into administration. Shortly after it was bought by Tapi, including the Carpetright brand, 54 shops and two warehouses.

Coventry ’s Airport Retail Park has been confirmed to be one of the stores sold to Tapi and will remain open, a spokesman for the firm said.

Bensons for Beds has now said it will save 19 of the more than 200 remaining stores that Carpetright has confirmed will shut for good.

However other local stores, including that at Coventry’s Alvis Retail Park, along with stores in Nuneaton and Rugby, are not included on either the Bensons rescue list or on the list of 54 stores Tapi has bought. This means they are still at risk of closure.

[dutchman]

Coventry TGI Fridays at risk as operator collapses into administration



The future of Coventry's popular TGI Fridays is at risk as the company's owner has gone into administration. Hostmore said it had appointed administrators from Teneo.

It comes after plans to buy the US restaurant chain collapsed earlier this month, the Mirror has reported. All of the company's 87 restaurants, including the Coventry eatery, were put up for sale earlier this week.

It has been reported that some of these sales were planned to be completed by the end of this month. Now the future is less certain.

This is because it is not clear whether some or all of the restaurants are likely to find a buyer. The Binley branch has been at the centre of celebrations for locals for years, with the famed birthday song and balloon hat.

It has been said that American-inspired restaurant chain will remain open as normal while the administration process starts. Hostmore said, in a statement to the London Stock Exchange: "The board is immensely proud of all Hostmore colleagues, both in store and in the support centre, who worked tirelessly to execute a turnaround programme over the past 18 months and to deliver a successful result on the proposed acquisition of TGI Fridays, Inc.

"The board inherited a very challenging set of circumstances, but a focus on reducing costs, revising the group’s capital allocation policy and implementing both board and senior management changes, meant that the group was able to reduce annualised expenditures by £12million, significantly reduce losses from unprofitable stores, and operate the group’s stores at a best in class efficiency level for the sector, all while improving guest scores to our highest levels on record.

“Unfortunately, all of the board’s efforts to implement a lasting solution to support the long-term financial future of the business came against a highly challenging trading and macroeconomic backdrop, and efforts to create value for shareholders through the proposed acquisition of TGI Fridays, while well-advanced, encountered adverse events outside of the board’s control."

TGI Fridays first opened in the UK in the 1980s with its first branch in nearby Birmingham.

[rebbonk]

Looks like Tupperware may also be going the same way

[dutchman]

Coventry Trespass shop to close for good as 'everything must go'



A major clothing brand will be pulling down the shutters on its only branch in Coventry. Trespass will soon be closing for good at Lower Precinct Shopping Centre.

Trespass, which sells outdoor clothing, footwear, and equipment, will shut down in the coming months with huge signs placed on the windows, announcing that 'everything must go.' It is currently not known whether jobs will be affected.

Founded in the 1990s, Trespass has over 300 stores worldwide and over 1500 employees in the UK. It confirmed back in July 2023 that a number of UK outlets would shut down in the near future, including in the West Midlands.

Stores have closed in Solihull, Sutton Coldfield, Chesterfield, Norwich, and at St Johns Precinct in Liverpool. Now Trespass in Coventry will be following suit and is set to close for good in the New Year.

Shoppers will have to travel more than 10 miles to the nearest Trespass branch, which is based on the Parade in Leamington Spa. Customers can also visit Trespass at Resorts World Arena in Birmingham.

[dutchman]

Coventry TGI Friday's announcement as 35 restaurants to close immediately



Coventry's TGI Friday's restaurant appears to have been spared the axe. It has been revealed that 35 of the chain's eateries are set to close immediately.

But the Binley branch is not on the list of closures. It is understood to be one of the 51 locations that will remain open.

This follows a buyout by Breal Capital and Calveton UK, saving almost 2,400 roles across the country. Daniel Smith and Julian Heathcote from Teneo have been appointed joint administrators.

Speaking about the changes, Julie McEwan, CEO of TGI Fridays UK, remarked: "TGI Fridays is a much-loved brand with a rich heritage. The news today marks the start of a positive future for our business following a very challenging period for the casual dining sector as a whole. We look to the future with confidence that the TGI Fridays brand will continue to attract loyal and new guests."

Daniel Smith, Teneo's senior managing director, stated: "The casual dining sector has been adversely impacted by well-publicised pressures on discretionary spend. This transaction with Breal Capital and Calveton UK preserves a significant proportion of jobs and will hopefully provide the business with the stability and support it needs to recover and grow. We thank all employees and other key stakeholders for their support at this difficult time."

However, Bryan Simpson, Unite Union's lead organiser for hospitality, strongly disagreed, saying the treatment of TGI workers was a "national disgrace". Simpson added: "To close venues and lock people out their workplace with absolutely no notice is a moral outrage and almost certainly illegal."

"This is the same company that informed the press before they told workers that they had gone into administration. Now our members are being told that they may not even be paid wages for work done. We are currently supporting our TGI members through this incredibly anxious situation made worse by a completely inept senior management who are sending invites to meetings with less than an hours notice. We would encourage any affected workers to contact Unite immediately to ensure they receive everything they are entitled to."

[rebbonk]

Typhoo Tea, one of the oldest tea companies in Britain, is close to going bust.

The century-old troubled tea brand has filed a notice to appoint administrators after recording losses of almost £40 million last year.

The brand is not yet in administration. Typhoo bosses filed a notice of intent (NOI) that gives them breathing space from creditors and seek a rescue deal, court documents filed yesterday show.

Dave McNulty, the newly appointed CEO of Typhoo, said the move enables the tea market titan to ‘to pursue a sale of the business’.

‘A further statement will be issued in due course with further information,’ he added.

Founded in 1903, Typhoo Tea has spent the past few years trying to bounce back from drooping sales.

Revenue shrank from £82 million in 2014/15 to £25,300,000 in 2022/23.

But trespassers damaging its former factory in Moreton, Merseyside, last year dealt a severe blow to the company’s bottom line.

Intruders occupied the site for several days and caused ‘extensive damage to its fabric and contents’, made some stock unusable and delayed the planned sale of the factory, Typhoo Tea said in August 2023.

All in all, the incident added costs of £24,000,000 to the already struggling manufacturer in the 2023 fiscal year.

Typhoo’s debts stood at £73,000,000 as of September 2023, up from £53,000,000 the year before.

Consumers, meanwhile, have increasingly ditched black tea – long a staple of many a British cupboard – for other hot drinks like herbal infusions.

Last year, 63% of people popped the kettle to make coffee compared to 99% doing so for tea, according to the 2023 Statista Global Consumer Survey.

Tea consumption has been falling since the mid-1970s as the ‘English Breakfast generation’, as consumer experts put them, made way for flat white-necking younger generations.

But tea isn’t vanishing off supermarket shelves anytime soon. In recent years, ‘wellness’ tea brands have been thriving as brands pop fruits, herbs and even mushrooms into their teabags.

Source: https://metro.co.uk/2024/11/15/much-loved-tea-brand-brink-collapsing-administration-22000920/

Now you know things are getting bad!

[dutchman]

I'd have thought there'd be a surge in tea-drinking this winter with all the pensioners trying to fend-off the cold?