A DISCOUNT chain with nearly 200 branches has shut its “absolutely loved” town centre shop for good.
The shop, based in the village of Ben Rhydding in Bradford, West Yorkshire, closed its doors forever on October 19.
The Original Factory Shop, on the corner of the A65 and Wheatley Lanea was once a garage and car showroom, but sadly the fate of the building has both been revealed and approved.
In August, Bradford Council’s planning panel approved the demolition of the building to make way for a drive-thru coffee shop.
Despite much controversy and uproar surrounding this plan, it seems the plan will be going ahead.
According to Telegraph & Argus, over 160 people wrote to Bradford Council, begging them to drop the plans.
This was followed by another 61 people signing a petition against the application, put forward by The EG Group Ltd and Burley Developments Ltd.
The EG was founded by the billionaire Issa brothers who operates other sites such as Starbucks, Greggs and Krispy Kreme – indicating what could replace the building.
In a Facebook post, The Original Factory Shop shared the sad news with locals and pointed them to the nearest chain in Otley.
It said: “We take this opportunity to thank all of the local community and our store colleagues for their support throughout our time here in Ilkley.”
Many unhappy locals have since taken to Facebook to share their thoughts.
One person wrote: “Absolutely loved the factory shop.”
While a second took a guess at what could replace the building: “It’s being taken over by the company that owns Starbucks and Kristy Kreme, so most likely a Starbucks. Tesco have had the plans.”
In response to this comment, a person said: “Glad it isn’t krispy kreme, my diet would be out the window.”
As locals questioned what could be replacing the shop, one person voiced their thoughts: “Well let’s hope they improve the aesthetics and make the signage in keeping with the town.”
Originally founded in 1969, the discount chain even turned 35 Woolworths stores into The Original Factory Shop stores.
It was also close to having 200 stores in the UK, but unfortunately this closure won’t get it any where nearer to that mark.
Alas, this news comes amid a wave of store closures across the UK.
Retail woes
Other retailers, such as Homebase, Boots, and Clarks, have been reducing the number of their high-street branches.
Rising rents, energy bills, and the cost of living have also caused many retailers to fail.
Several big retailers have fallen into administration in the past year, including Wilko, Paperchase, and most recently, The Body Shop and Ted Baker.
The Body Shop collapsed into administration on February 13, putting its almost 198 branches at risk of closure.
Since then, it has closed down 82 locations.
Why are retailers closing shops?
EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre’s decline.
The Sun’s business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.
In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.
Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open. In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.
The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.
Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead.
Boss Stuart Machin recently said that when it relocated a tired store in Chesterfield to a new big store in a retail park half a mile away, its sales in the area rose by 103 per cent.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Wilko, Debenhams Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Paperchase to name a few.
What’s increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.
