A BARGAIN shoe chain is to shut another store after a wave of closures – but it's not all bad news for shoppers.
Shoezone will pull the shutters down on another store in its latest round of closures.
The popular retailer, which has more than 300 stores, is to close its branch in Westgate Street, Ipswich, and it has launched a huge closing down sale.
It comes after Shoezone shoppers spotted closing down signs in the shop's window.
It is not known when the shops will close but we've reached out to Shoezone to find out.
Disappointed shoppers have taken to social media to react to news of the closure.
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One Facebook user wrote: "High Street will soon be a thing of the past."
While another added: "What? Another shop going? It is going to be a ghost town in Ipswich soon with all the shops shutting down."
And a third said: "My God. Another one gone."
But it's not all bad news, because the store is set to relocate to a new site in Tavern Street.
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Shoezone is also set to close five other stores later this year.
Its Newport store in the Isle of Wight will shut for good this month.
Shops in Newton Abbot and Watford are also set to pull the shutters down.
Plus, stores in Hinckley and Beccles will close too.
The high street chain has already closed 11 branches this year in the following locations:
- London Road, Waterlooville, Portsmouth
- High Street, Southend (Relocation)
- The Drapery, Northampton (Relocation)
- Bell Centre, Melton, Leicestershire
- Broad Street, Seaford, East Sussex
- Well Croft, Shipley, West Yorkshire
- Longton Exchange Shopping Centre, Stoke-on-Trent
- Dockhead Street, Saltcoats
- Broadmead Shopping Centre, Bristol
- Grand Junction Retail Park, Crewe
- Cameron Toll Shopping Centre, Edinburgh
It comes as the retailer looks to open new "big box and hybrid" format stores from its original, smaller formats.
These stores will offer more stock and a greater range of styles, according to the retailer.
In its annual results, Shoezone said it was hoping to expand its store refit and relocation programme this year.
Shoezone closed 63 stores in the year to October 1, 2022, opened 13 and converted 11 existing stores into its new formats.
In 2020, it closed 20 sites and cut jobs after facing losses during the coronavirus pandemic.
But Shoezone isn't the only retailer that is closing branches this year.
More high street closures
The retail sector has been hit hard in recent years due to the growth of online shopping, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the same time the cost of living has been rising, leading to shoppers cutting back on non-essential spending.
Brick and mortar stores have also seen a lack of footfall due to consumer habits switching to online shopping.
Beloved discounter Wilko is to close all of its stores by October, with thousands of workers set for redundancy, after it collapsed into administration.
Familiar brands like M&Co and Paperchase also went under closing all of their UK shops earlier this year.
House of Fraser is set to pull the shutters down on one of its stores in its latest round of closures.
Although, some chains have managed to defy high street troubles and are actually set to open new shops.
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These include discount chains like Poundland which is set to open 15 shops in the coming weeks and Greggs which is aiming to open 150 new sites this year.
Meanwhile, we've also rounded up all the high street chains closing sites in September.
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