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Iconic major retailer with 1,100 UK stores to shut town centre shop in latest blow to high street

AN ICONIC retailer with 1,100 stores across the UK has closed one of its major branches for good – leaving fans in tears.

The closure comes as the retailer struggles to adapt to shifting shopping behaviours and mounting economic pressures.

WHSmith store sign, est. 1792.
WHSmith has closed one of its popular branches

WHSmith’s branch in Bolton’s Crompton Place has shut its doors for good on Saturday, 15 February.

The well-loved store is said to have closed due to redevelopment plans, according to company officials.

A spokesperson for the retailer said: “We are disappointed to be losing our presence in Bolton and we would like to thank all our customers for their support and for shopping with us.”

Due to the closure, the stock of the store has been reduced to 75 per cent discount.

A member of staff Aaron Highet said: “It has been such a good experience and I’ve enjoyed my time here.

“The customers come in with a smile and want to chat. The staff have been lovely and are brilliant to get on with.”

Another shopper Wendy told the Bolton News: “I’m very sad about the closure. I have been coming here for decades to browse the magazines, books and pens.”

Store manager Sara Goldthorpe said: “We have had a lot of customers say they are disappointed about the closure.

“Lots of them come in to use their National Book Tokens and with World Book Day coming up, they will have to go to another branch.”

This follows the recent closure of two other locations in the area, on Old Christchurch Road and in Boscombe.

WHSmith is also set to close its Newtown branch in Powys, bringing an end to nearly a century of serving the local community in the town centre.

A further nine WHSmith sites will close before the end of the first two financial quarters in:

Which stores have already closed?

Over the past two years, WHSmith has shuttered 15 stores, including locations in Manchester, Bicester, Somerset, and Sale.

In June 2023, WHSmith confirmed it would not be opening any more high street branches in a blow for shoppers.

The retailer said opening more high street stores would “just be a duplication”.

It added it intended to focus on expanding its portfolio outside the sector.

Here’s the full list of stores which have closed over the past few years:

  • Crewe, Cheshire – March, 2023
  • Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire – March, 2023
  • Bicester, Oxfordshire – August, 2023
  • Manchester – December 2, 2023
  • Alfreton, Derbyshire – January, 2024
  • Ramsgate, Kent – January, 2024
  • Oban, Argyll and Bute, Scotland – February, 2024
  • Nantwich, South Cheshire – February, 2024
  • Margate, Kent – April 20, 2024
  • Sale, Manchester – September 2024
  • Bournemouth – October, 2024
  • Bournemouth Old Christchurch Road, Dorset – January 18, 2025
  • Luton, Bedfordshire – January 18, 2025
  • March, Cambridgeshire – January 25, 2025
  • Basingstoke, Hampshire – February 1, 2025

What else is happening at WHSmith?

The retailer is actively seeking to offload its entire high street estate in order to focus on its fast-growing travel business of shops in airports and train stations.

WHSmith is working with advisers at Greenhill Investment Boutique. 

It is hoped that a deal can be reached within three months, according to sources.

Potential buyers circling the retailer, which opened its first London shop over 200 years ago, include retail turnaround specialists Hilco and Alteri, along with Doug Putman, owner of HMV, and Modella Capital, owner of Hobbycraft.

Investors have not wanted WHSmith to spend any more money on its high street arm, which has no real growth prospects. 

Russ Mould at AJ Bell said; “Exiting makes strategic sense and there have been plenty of clues it would happen one day soon.

“The travel arm is where most of the profits are made. It makes sense to sharpen the focus on what a company does best by offloading less important interests such as the high street operations.”

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.

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Masked Singer’s Joel Dommett reveals plan to host hit show he says is ‘best on telly’ after Gino D’Acampo was axed

HE’S one of the nicest men on telly, but Joel Dommett has shown surprising opportunism in the wake of allegations surrounding fellow TV star Gino D’Acampo.

ITV have just confirmed that it won’t be showing the controversial Italian’s most recently-filmed series of Family Fortunes, which all but spells the end for him in the role.

Gino D'Acampo hosting Family Fortunes.
ITV
ITV have confirmed that it won’t be showing Gino D’Acampo’s most recently-filmed series of Family Fortunes[/caption]
Man in a sparkly suit speaking into a microphone.
Joel Dommett says he wants to take the reins on the quiz

And now that The Masked Singer has ended, Joel says he wants to take the reins on the popular quiz because he’s always fancied Gino’s job.

He told the Always Be Comedy podcast: “Now Gino D’Acampo is gone, maybe I’ve got the chance to slide in. I’ve been waiting for that.

“Honestly, Family Fortunes for me is the best show on telly and I know people will say, ‘What are you talking about?’. The perfect format is where the right answer or wrong answer, are both satisfying, but that’s so hard to achieve.”

Joel wrapped up the latest series of The Masked Singer on Saturday night, as musical theatre’s Samantha Barks, aka Pufferfish, emerged as the winner.

Now, he’d love to put a twist on the traditional format of Family Fortunes, which has been hosted by Gino since 2020.

He said: “I really think Family Feud, the American version, is THE best telly show in the world.

“So I would love to do the UK gig, but I would turn it into a different show.

“The American one leads you down a fun garden path with every answer, so when they say ‘name a race’, they want you to say ‘the 100 metres’ or ‘a heptathlon’, but someone says ‘Chinese people’ and everyone laughs. That’s what you need in it!”

The third series of Family Fortunes under Gino was scrapped by ITV after multiple allegations of bad behaviour came to light, though the channel has yet to confirm what plans they have for it moving forward.

Meanwhile, Joel’s other ITV gameshow, In With A Shout, has been shelved after two series — and it’s not clear when or if a third will be made.

And his big BBC gig, Survivor, has had a huge question mark over it as it went out in 2023, but the Beeb have yet to confirm a second outing.

Sounds like Joel has plenty of good reasons to eye up Gino’s old role.

Chuffed Puffer’s new gig

FRESH from her Masked Singer victory, when she was unveiled as Pufferfish, Samantha Barks has announced a one-night- only solo concert.

The actress and singer – who played Elsa in the West End production of Frozen and also starred in Les Miserables – will take to London’s Palladium on April 5.

Samantha Barks as Elsa in Frozen the Musical.
Pufferfish AKA Samantha Barks has announced a one-night-only solo concert

Supported by a live band, the star will reel off her best-known hits – though she will have to get used to the crowds seeing her face again after getting comfy in her costume on the ITV singing contest.

Samantha said: “It’s been so fun to perform inside the mask, it’s so liberating.”

Dates a First for Vic’s Ma

SHE has found fame as Coronation Street’s Angie Appleton, but now Victoria Ekanoye is letting her mum take the limelight.

The actress, who appeared on the cobbles from 2017 to 2019, filled out the application for First Dates on behalf of her mum to give her a boost.

Victoria Ekanoye at the Inside Soap Awards.
Getty
Victoria Ekanoye filled out the application for First Dates on behalf of her mum to give her a boost[/caption]

Candy will appear on the Channel 4 show at 10pm tonight, on her first date in seven years after a battle with breast cancer knocked her confidence.

Victoria went on to battle the same cancer in 2021, before confirming she too had beaten the disease last year after undergoing a double mastectomy.

Unfazed by the idea her mum might out-do her on telly, and find herself a new career path, Victoria said: “She’ll outshine me, I’m going to retire – because she’s just TV gold.

“She’s funny without trying to be, and I just know people are going to love her!”

Kate behind the camera

KATE WINSLET will make her directorial debut in Netflix film Goodbye June.

She will also star in the drama, alongside Toni Collette, Timothy Spall and Helen Mirren.

Set in England, it sees a group of siblings united in “sudden and trying circumstances”.

It will go into production soon.

Goodish Gregg gag axe

DAVE GORMAN has had to axe an episode of his Modern Life Is Goodish series after material about TV presenter Gregg Wallace was cut.

The U&Dave show will return on February 24, but the run has been shortened to three episodes.

Dave Gorman in jeans and a red and blue plaid shirt.
Dave Gorman has had to axe an episode of his Modern Life Is Goodish series
(C) Avalon

It had been written and performed before the MasterChef host was accused of sexual harassment and making inappropriate comments – claims Gregg denies.

Dave’s fascination with Gregg and his rise to fame and role as presenter of Inside The Factory was at the centre of much of his live tour last year.

During the comedy set, Dave referred to the grocer-turned-TV-host as a “six-year-old in a man’s clothing”, as he poked fun at his unusual career path.

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WhatsApp change is finally giving the people what they want

WhatsApp icon on a colourful background
WhatsApp is finally giving users what they want (Picture: Metro)

WhatsApp is getting a makeover – though, unlike ‘The Princess Diaries,’ there is no eyebrow-plucking and hair-straightening involved.

One of the biggest changes to the Meta-owned app is being introduced in the coming weeks, set to change everything.

The new ‘Chat Theme’ feature was unveiled in a blog post on Friday as part of the latest effort to boost personal customisation.

This means more than 3 billion users across the world will be able to swap the colour of the chat bubbles and background.

Rather than the generic green and white, people can choose from a large selection of colours including purple, blue, orange and pink. 

WhatsApp is also adding 30 new wallpaper options to the app for an extra bit of flair.

The new features have already started to roll out

Alternatively, people can still upload a background from their camera roll to make them completely unique.

‘You can apply the same theme to all your chats, or make each one extra special with different themes,’ the post on the WhatsApp website read.

‘Either way, your chat themes are only visible to you. You can also change the theme of your channels.’

These features have already started to roll out and will be available globally over the coming weeks.

This comes after a terrifying glitch allowed users to see WhatsApp’s ‘View Once’ photos multiple times earlier in February.

The feature is meant to let users send images which delete automatically after they are seen, without the option to take a screenshot.

But in a worrying error for security, they could actually still be seen in the app’s settings, which includes chat history.

While the flaw – which only affected iPhone users, has since been fixed – it was a big oversight for the privacy feature.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

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