PwC: UK high streets close 2,700 stores in first half of 2018

A new report by PwC has found that around 14 shops are closing every day on the UK’s high streets.

According to the new figures, this is the worst trading climate reported in half a decade. Around 2,692 shops were shut across Britain in the first half of 2018 alone, and only 1,569 stores were opened.

It is thought that a net 1,123 shops closed on the top 500 high streets of the country in this period.

About 14 shops are closing every day as UK high streets face their toughest trading climate in five years, a report has found.

Amongst the retailers, fashion and electrical goods stores have been hit the worst. This is down to customers going online for such items.

It seems that Toys R Us, Coast and Poundland have sadly been the most memorable collapses this year has seen, whilst House of Fraser was bought back out of administration by Sports Direct’s Mike Ashley.

Toys R Us and Maplin were two early casualties while Poundland and Coast have also collapsed.

The government promised £900m to ‘fix’ the high street epidemic in chancellor, Philip Hammond’s latest Autumn Budget.

Jake Berry, the minister responsible for high streets, said the government ‘will turn it around’, explaining: “We have created a £675m fund to help high streets adapt, slashed business rates…

“[We] are creating a task force guided by Sir John Timpson, one of the UK’s most experienced retailers, to ensure that high streets are adapting for rapid change and are fit for the future.”

Richard Stables, CEO of Kelkoo, added: “The high street is in the midst of a cutthroat period - with the closures of M&S, Debenhams and House of Fraser indicating that not even the largest retailers are safe.

“For many retailers, an extensive and expensive property portfolio is more of a drain on resources than an asset.

“With growing consumer demand for convenience, retailers must ensure they can deliver customers through a fully integrated omnichannel offering. Unfortunately, this is exactly where many retailers are falling short.

“Unsurprisingly, traditional fashion retailers have been hit hardest due to their unwillingness to change to meet consumer demand - even under intensive pressure from online pure-play brands.

“The rise of social shopping is rapidly making bricks and mortar retailers obsolete - the onus is on these traditional names to adapt or die.”

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