SHOPPERS are up in arms as Aldi is set to close a popular store within weeks.
Aldi announced is will shut its Swanfield Place branch in Llanelli, Wales on April 27 and has no plans to replace it.
The move by the budget favourite will leave local punters having to trek to Trostre for their cheap grub, which is about a 30 minute walk from the site marked for closure.
The news is a big blow for the town, especially those who will struggle to travel the distance to the Trostre.
Cllr Sarah Evans told InYourArea: “This is a hell of a blow to those who do not have a car in my ward who face a far longer journey to travel to do their weekly shop.
“In particular it will hit the elderly and the most vulnerable the hardest.
“Llanelli welcomed Aldi with open arms as it brought cheaper prices and competition to the other major supermarket chains.”
Labour councillor Shaun Greaney said: “People can ill-afford to lose this store. With rising energy prices, water bills, and a near 9% hike in council tax, this shop was a lifeline for those barely scraping by.
“I don’t know how people are going to manage now.”
One gutted shopper vented on Facebook: “Another great shop leaving our town, Aldi are closing there shop in Llanelli in April It’s such a shame that Llanelli council won’t try to keep this shop in town.
“It now means that if we want to go to Aldi in the future it means a trek to trostre.”
One unhappy customer replied to the post writing: “I love it there and I agree it’s always busy there!!! I don’t like the other Aldi it’s too big and the car park is awful!”
Another chimed in: “Been on the cards for a long time. Just been seeing out their lease. They were never going to keep two open in the town. “
An Aldi Spokesperson told The Sun: “Our Swanfield Place Store will close in Spring 2025.
“Our valued customers will still be able to shop and save close to home at our Trostre Road Store, and our amazing colleagues will be relocated to local stores.”
Cllr Andrew Bragoli, added: “It feels like a betrayal of those loyal customers who spent their money at the store for years.
“I think it is a matter of record that when they were looking to open a store near Trostre Retail Park the company promised to keep the store here in Swanfield Place.
“I understand the store in our ward was still making money so I don’t understand why they are closing it. I hope they rethink this decision.”
Aldi is not the only retailer that has had to close stores, with M&S closing one of its stores in a matter of weeks.
The posh nosh retailer is closing it Foodhall store in Wellington Street, Leeds, later this month.
The branch will shut on March 22, with signs up outside the store advertising the closure.
Whilst, a Co-op in Oxfordshire is due to be replaced by a Morrisons’ store.
The Burchester Place branch in Banbury, Oxfordshire closed for the final time on Wednesday, March 5.
Shoppers were stunned to find a notice in the window that read: “We apologise for the inconvenience and would like to thank our customers for their continued support.”
The shop will be transformed into a Morrisons Local and Midcounties Co-op staff will be transferred to the new store.
It has not yet been revealed when the Morrisons Local will be opening.
High street woes
Once the beating heart of British shipping, high street retailers have been battered by the rise of online shopping, with footfall dwindling.
The cost-of-living crisis and soaring inflation have only made things worse, as cash-strapped shoppers cut back on spending.
Now, many stores that once welcomed a steady stream of customers are closing their doors for good.
In some cases, landlords are either unwilling or unable to invest in keeping shops open, further speeding up the closures.
For now, residents will have to seek out other options for their shopping as the future of the store remains uncertain.
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.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs from April 2025, will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40.
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.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Carpetright, Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Paperchase, Ted Baker, The Body Shop, Topshop and Wilko 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.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
