A BELOVED outdoor retailer is set to shut one of its stores in weeks as it launches a “huge” closing down sale.
Craigdon Mountain Sports will shutter its branch in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, at the end of March.
A Facebook post by the business, which operates one other store in Aberdeen, confirmed the closure.
It added: “We’re so grateful for the incredible support from the local community over the years, and we want to thank our amazing team and all the outdoor enthusiasts who made this store so special.”
Craigdon Mountain Sports said “many” of the Inverurie store staff will be transferred to its Aberdeen site and its website remains operational.
Stock has also been reduced in a huge closing down sale.
But shoppers have still be left distraught after finding out the branch, which sells footwear, snow gear, bags and more, will close its doors for good in a matter of weeks.
Posting on Facebook, one said: “Wow! what a shock! The best shop in the world, the best staff in the world!
“Such a shame to hear, the world is coming to an end, been in my life since I can remember, sad, sad, sad.”
Another commented: “Absolutely gutted to hear this – a real loss for Inverurie as well as the Craigdon brand.”
A third saddened customer added: “So sad to hear this news. Best outdoor shop with the best staff ever.
“We’ve been going for years and all our family adventures have been kitted out here.”
And a fourth commented: “So sorry to hear this, a great loss for Inverurie and the surrounding area.”
The Craigdon Mountain Sports closure comes after a host of other retailers shut up shop in Aberdeenshire.
Superdry is closing its store at the Union Square Shopping Centre in Aberdeen, today, after launching a 30% off sale.
Popular fashion chain Fat Face shuttered its store inside the same shopping centre on January 25.
Meanwhile, American retailer Hollister is set to shut its only store in Aberdeen at the end of the month.
Stores close sites for a variety of reasons including that a particular site is not performing or that a lease is coming to an end.
Closures are not always an indication that a brand is struggling.
HIGH STREET STRUGGLES
The high street has struggled in recent years as shoppers increasingly head online.
The most recent data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows online retail sales increased from 5% of all retail sales in 2008 to 27% in 2022.
Shoppers have also been feeling the pinch in recent years following surging inflation which has dented their budgets.
The Centre for Retail Research said in 2024 alone more than 13,000 shops closed across the UK.
Some outdoor retailers are closing branches across the UK, including Trespass and Mountain Warehouse, which has shut a string of shops across the UK in recent years.
But it’s not been bad news by all means.
In August, Mountain Warehouse said it wanted to open 50 new stores following a surge in demand for outdoor clothing.
This came after the brand opened 20 new stores at the start of 2024 following pre-tax profits of £26.2million over the financial year.
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.
