Next announces closure of popular store in latest high street blow

Next has confirmed the closure of a popular branch this summer, in the latest blow to Britain’s high street.

The retail giant, which runs around 500 branches in the UK, will be pulling down the shutters on its store in Huddersfield in July, Yorkshire Live reports.

According to the outlet, the store is due to close when its lease expires, with staff already informed of the plans.

A spokesperson for Next said: “The lease on the Kingsgate Centre Next store comes to an end in July, when it will close.

“All staff affected are already aware of the situation,” it added.

However, there is another Huddersfield branch in the Great Northern Retail Park. 

It wasn’t immediately clear why the Kingsgate Centre branch was being closed. Next has been approached for more information.

The news was met with disappointment online, with one shopper writing: “Everywhere in hudds is closing. One by one it’s a shame, I used to love town!”

Another wrote: “Town will have no shops left soon.”

A third said: “There’s a lady that’s worked there for such a long time , she’s so lovely. I hope she’s found something else,” adding: “Sadly there’s not much left in Huddersfield to bother going now.”

It comes after figures from the Centre for Retail Research released at the start of this month, (January 2) showed that more than 13,000 high-street stores closed last year, with experts warning that “worse is set to come” in 2025.

The study showed that UK retail store closures increased by more than a quarter on the previous year.

A total of 13,479 stores, the equivalent of 37 a day, closed their doors last year, with the vast majority of closures being small independent retailers, the research found.

According to the data, 11,300 independent stores closed last year, a 45.5% rise over the previous year.

Larger chains closed a staggering 2,138 stores, and more than half of the stores that closed were due to retailers undergoing some form of insolvency proceedings.

Additionally, 5,942 shops were closed due to cost-cutting initiatives, including major retailers like Boots and Shoe Zone.

Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the Centre for Retail Research, said: “Whilst the results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025.”

It’s predicted that 17,350 stores could close this year, with around 14,660 of those coming from independent retailers.