The Swindon Town Centre could look much different towards the end of 2020 if the latest research is correct.
According to the Centre for Retail Research, 2018 saw over 117,000 jobs lost throughout the UK with the closure of 14,583 stores.
2019 saw that annual number rise to 143,128 jobs lost and 16,073 stores closing.
Predictions from the Centre for Retail Research reveal that the number of closures and jobs lost in the retail sector will continue to rise through 2020 with over 17,000 stores expected to close with the loss of 171,669 jobs.
The headline figures include national retailers with multiple locations and also independent retailers.
Why Is It So Bad for Shop Retailers?
The key issues for high street retailers are:
- The high costs of running retail outlets, including rents, business rates and high labour costs;
- Low profitability caused by high costs, slow growth in sales, squeezed profit margins and heavy price competition;
- The rapid growth of online competition such that by 2018 online sales accounted for around 18.4% of total retail merchandise sales, with much of online growth achieved at the expense of bricks-and-mortar retailers.
- Lack of preparation: low investment in stores and weak forward planning to meet the challenges of the new retailing.
Topman, Topshop and Kingsley Smythe already have their closing down signs up in the Town Centre and Bose have recently announced the closure of their Outlet stores throughout the UK including Swindon so the question is who is next?
