Midlands shop closures hit five-year high
Shops are continuing to close at an alarming rate, new figures released today reveal.
The West Midlands - including Shropshire - saw a net loss of 188 shops operated by multiple retailers across its main high streets, retail parks and shopping centres last year.
While there were 287 openings, the number of closures hit 475, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers' research compiled by the Local Data Company.
It was the largest annual fall in shop numbers in the West Midlands in five years.
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Today's figures mark a significant rise in shop failures. The region's net loss in 2017 was 144 shops with 60 recorded in 2016, 19 in 2015 and 153 in 2014.
The research found that the leisure sector is thriving with health clubs, pet shops and pet supplies and Indian takeaways on the rise, but banks and charity and mobile phone shops were hardest hit by shop closures
Birmingham saw the highest net loss in the region of 23 shops (61 openings and 84 closures), followed by Walsall which saw a net loss of 16 (11 openings and 27 closures).
Shrewsbury's net loss was 12 (eight openings, 20 closures) and Kidderminster's figure was nine (four openings, 13 closures)
Wolverhampton's net loss was eight (21 openings and 29 closures) and Dudley had a loss of seven overall (three openings and 10 closures).
Takeover
Lichfield also lost seven (four openings, 11 closures), Halesowen was down four (one opening, five closures);Cannock (one opening, four closures) and Stafford (16 openings, 19 closures) each has a net loss of three, while Stourbridge (six openings, seven closures) was one down overall.
The figures were released as Debenhams went into administration after a bitter takeover battle involving Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley. Boots also warned of possible store closures last week as some of Britain's biggest names struggle.
Andy Lyon, retail and consumer markets leader for PwC in the Midlands, said: “It’s clear that 2018 was a turbulent year for retailers. Coupled with the growth in online and high occupancy costs impacted by business rates, retailers are facing some of the biggest challenges to hit the high street as we see closures hit record levels.
“There is still an important role for the high street to play, as it secures a sustainable future to support online and leisure activity.
"We are seeing the high street evolve into an experiential destination, be it through leisure experiences, or retailers restructuring their physical space to support online activity by showcasing products, and attracting footfall through parcel collection and returns facilitation. Key to this is to look at not what is failing but what is thriving through consumer demand and how retailers are making smart changes.
“In Birmingham we will see the world’s largest Primark store open this week, which is home to a range of beauty services, as well as food outlets and extensive fashion collections. This is an example on our doorstep of how retailers are diversifying prime retail space into new experiences to attract footfall.
“The West Midlands continues to see significant investment in infrastructure and connectivity with the likes of HS2, Metro extension and the 5G test-bed continuing to put the region at the heart of the UK. Coupled with major events like Coventry City of Culture 2021 and Commonwealth Games 2022 the region is attracting growing visitor numbers, and we hope to see a knock-on effect to the high street.”
Today's figures show a record net 2,481 stores disappeared from Great Britain’s top 500 high streets in 2018. In total, 3,372 shops opened, compared to 5,833 closures.
The number of store openings by multiple retailers dropped by 17.4 per cent year-on-year with the current rate of openings at nine stores per day. This also represents a 44 per cent decrease from the 16 stores per day opening in 2013.
