‘This was my favourite place to shop’ say customers as high street fashion chain with 227 stores to close town branch
A BUDGET fashion retailer has confirmed it is shopping one of its branches in a quaint market town.
The Bonmarché on Grantham High Street in Lincolnshire is set to close its doors for good – and its loyal customers are gutted.
One claimed: “Its the only decent place in Grantham to buy ladies clothes, while another lauded its customer experience: “Excellent service as always”.
The chain is famous for flogging fashionable clothing on the cheap, paying particular attention to larger sizes.
The Grantham store is rated 4.4 stars out of 5 on Google.
It’s not yet clear how many jobs will be lost but there are over 2,600 stores nationwide and more than three stores in Lincolnshire.
Bonmarché was founded by Indian immigrant Parkash Singh Chima in Cambridgeshire back as a door-to-door business in 1982,
Chima then moved up north to Yorkshire and opened his first store in Doncaster, before it expanded across the UK.
The high street chain was acquired by the Peacock Group in July 2002.
A spokesperson for the chain explained the reason behind the closure but did not specify an exact date.
“Bonmarché has refocused attention on customer experience in store and online, through upgrades to the stores and having invested significantly to optimise its store footprint.
“Store numbers increased from 201 in February 2023 to 227 Bonmarché stores across the country today – including the Bay Tree Gardening Centre store in Spalding.
“Whilst website traffic has been a driver for increased sales, with orders increasing 17.4% on Bonmarché on the year before.”
But we reported earlier this year that Bonmarché has plans to open new stores in Bradford, Lincoln, Milton Keynes, Inverness and Stirling.
The chain is one of three iconic British fashion retailers to open 100 new high street stores over the next 18 months.
The parent of Bonmarché, Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM) and Peacocks is looking to open 100 new UK stores across the UK.
The new store openings are expected to create over 500 jobs.
It comes just three years after the investment consortium, Purepay Retail Limited, bought all three brands out of administration.
Retailers closing stores in 2024
RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
Here’s a list of all the big-name brands closing stores this year:
- Argos – The brand announced plans to close 100 standalone UK branches last year as it looks to move away from the high street and focus on expanding its presence in supermarkets.
- B&Q – The chain has over 300 shops across the UK, so chances are you have one near you, but some stores have closed in recent months.
- Boots – The health and beauty chain announced that it would be closing 300 stores last July. Closures are ongoing and this will see the retailer’s estate reduced from 2,200 to 1,900 shops.
- Clintons – Clintons mulled plans to close 38 shops in a bid to avoid insolvency late last year. We’ve listed the stores affected.
- Costa Coffee – The caffeine giant has around 2,000 sites nationwide, so chances are you’ll have one near you. The chain has shut the doors to dozens of its sites recently. We’ve revealed which stores are due to close this year.
- Iceland – The supermarket has more than 900 stores but closed nearly two dozen sites in 2023, and more selected shops are due to shut.
- Lidl – The supermarket, which has 950 stores, is changing up shop locations, which has meant that some stores have to close. But the retailer is also looking to open 12 new supermarkets.
- M&S – M&S, which runs 405 stores across the country, has been closing a string of branches across the country in a blow for shoppers. It’s not all bad news, though, because the chain also has big plans to open dozens of new shops as well.
- Trespass – The firm announced in July last year that it was closing six branches, but more are on the way.
- WHSmith – The retail giant, which runs over 1,100 stores, has shuttered eight stores since March 2023, but more are coming.