HOBBYCRAFT will shut nine stores in days with huge closing down sales launched.
Sites across Bristol, Dunstable, Borehamwood and Basildon are all set to close on June 21, The Sun can reveal.
Hobbycraft is closing a number of stores in the coming weeks[/caption]
A further two sites in Essex and one in Gloucestershire are also set to close, with a site in Kent closing earlier this year.
The impacted stores are part of at least nine Hobbycraft stores that have been earmarked for closure this year.
News of the closures has come as a blow to locals in the area, with Bristol residents describing it as a “shame”.
While another said the store would be missed and they needed to find another “rainy day activity”.
A Kent local said: “Oh noooooo it’s the only one I go to regularly as the rest are too far away!”.
Another resident said they would “need therapy” following news of the closure.
Closing down sales have also been launched across the stores, with up to 70% off on some items.
It comes as new owner Modella Capital is launching an overhaul after buying Hobbycraft in August last year.
Modella also agreed to purchase WHSmith’s high street business earlier this year.
The move is set to impact between 72 and 126 jobs.
It is said the shake-up will help secure the future of 99 stores and around 1,800 jobs across the arts and crafts business.
You can check out the full list of stores earmarked for closure below.
- Canterbury, Kent – closed
- Basildon, Essex – June 21
- Borehamwood, Hertfordshire – June 21
- Bristol, Imperial Retail Park – June 21
- Dunstable, Bedfordshire – June 21
- Epping Forest, Essex – June 21
- Lakeside Shopping Centre, Essex – June 21
- Cirencester, Gloucestershire -June 21
- Bagshot, Surrey – June 21
OTHER STORE CLOSURES
Hobbycraft is not the only retailer facing hard times.
Up to 11 Original Factory Shops stores are to set to close this month, including sites across Worcestershire, Durham and Cumbria.
Meanwhile, another five stores across Nairn, Market Drayton, Troon, Blairgowrie and Castle Douglas have been put up for sale.
It comes as part of a major restructuring carried out by new owner Modella Capital with a number of loss-making stores having to close as result.
You can see the full list of store closures here:
- Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire – June 26
- Perth – June 28
- Chester Le Street, County Durham – June 28
- Arbroath, Angus – June 28
- Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire – June 28
- Pershore, Worcestershire – June 28
- Normanton, West Yorkshire – June 28
- Peterhead, Aberdeenshire – June 28
- Shaftesbury, Dorset – June 28
- Staveley, Cumbria – July 12
- Middlewich – TBC
The following stores are also up for sale:
- Nairn
- Market Drayton
- Troon
- Blairgowrie
- Castle Douglas
It comes after pivate equity firm Modella bought The Original Factory Shop back in February and has since launched a restructuring effort to renegotiate rents at 88 TOFS stores.
At the end of April, Modella drew up plans to initiate a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) for TOFS.
Companies often use CVAs to prevent insolvency, which could otherwise result in store closures or the collapse of the entire business.
They allow firms to explore different strategies such as negotiating reduced rent rates with landlords.
RETAIL PAIN IN 2025
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: “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.”
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
“By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer’s household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020.”
