A major fashion retailer is closing a store in a major blow to the UK high street. River Island is shutting its branch at the Old Market Shopping Centre in Hereford on January 31.

This comes as River Island moves ahead with plans to close 33 stores as part of a restructuring bid following heavy losses. The clothing retailer’s restructuring plan was approved by the High Court in August. Besides the closures, rent reductions and debt will be written off for 71 stores. River Island currently has over 200 shops nationwide, with 122 of these remaining unaffected, and employs around 5,500 staff. Ben Lewis, CEO of River Island, said: “We have a clear transformation strategy to ensure the long-term viability of the business, and this decision gives us a strong platform to deliver this.” 

He added: “Recent improvements in our fashion offer and shopping experience are starting to show results, and the restructuring plan will enable us to align our store estate to our customers’ needs. 

“We are grateful to our suppliers, landlords and other stakeholders for their constructive engagement and shared confidence in River Island’s future.”

In June, Mr Lewis said that although River Island is “a much-loved” British retailer, a rise in online shopping had left the business with “a large portfolio of stores that is no longer aligned to our customers’ needs”. 

He added that a “sharp rise in the cost of doing business over the last few years has only added to the financial burden”. 

The business reported a £33.2m pre-tax loss in 2023, following a 19% decline in sales, with losses nearly doubling to £64m in 2024, according to its accounts.

It has requested landlords to cut its rent for three years and potentially stop payments on some units to try and curb its losses. The plan was approved by a High Court judge in August of last year.

Poundland is set to shut down 12 of its stores in January 2026. After already slashing the size of the chain, the discount retailer hopes to achieve greater success from now on, securing its place on Britain’s future high streets.

The closing Poundland branches are holding clearance sales, with reductions of up to 40% and with items marked down in price until they are sold. The high street chain has confirmed it will have to shut a further two stores in February and more than 100 shops in the UK by early 2026.

The February stores closing include Winton, Dorset, on February 6, and Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, on February 8.

Poundland has also pledged to price approximately 60% of grocery items at £1 throughout its network following the changes, which comes after a five-month trial at 17 stores in the West Midlands.

Darren MacDonald, Poundland’s UK country manager, said: “We know how disappointing it is when we leave a store, but before we close our doors for a final time, we’re determined to say goodbye by offering even more amazing value to customers. The special reductions, on top of the value we provide in every store, will help us leave locations we’re leaving with pride.

“And when we close our doors, we look forward to welcoming customers to one of the hundreds of Poundland stores we’ll continue to operate right across the UK.”

A Poundland spokesperson said: “Customers will be able to take advantage of significant savings as these stores prepare for closure in the days ahead.

“The reductions of up to 40pc will see items marked down in price until they’re sold and cover all the stock in each store from homewares to groceries and clothing to health and beauty.”

The number of Poundland stores is expected to drop from 800 last year to 650 or 700 as leases expire and landlords exercise any option to serve notice, reports the Mirror.

The first Poundland stores to close this month are in Bexhill, East Sussex, Ponders End, Greater London, and Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire. These three stores will shut down on January 5.

A new tranche of closures has been announced from high street bargain chain Poundland – with the first three shops closing today (Jan 5). The 12 shops will be closing in January and continue a stream of shutdowns which happened at the end of 2025.

The discount retailer has already slashed the size of its chain this year as it hopes to turn around its performance and secure its future on Britain’s high streets.

The Poundland shops that are due to close are holding clearance sales, with reductions of up to 40% and with items marked down in price until they are sold.

The budget retailer has pledged to price roughly 60% of grocery items at £1 throughout its network following the changes, which come after a five-month trial at 17 stores in the West Midlands.

The firm said the move will see it return “back to its roots” and mark “the end of additional price complexity”, with straightforward pricing set to roll out across general merchandise and clothing ranges in the coming months.

The number of Poundland stores is expected to drop to around 650 or 700 from 800 last year as leases expire or landlords exercise any option to serve notice, reports the Mirror.

The chain has also confirmed that in outlets which are closing down, massive sales are taking place to shift the stock. A Poundland spokesperson said: “Customers will be able to take advantage of significant savings as these stores prepare for closure in the days ahead.

“The reductions of up to 40pc will see items marked down in price until they’re sold and cover all the stock in each store from homewares to groceries and clothing to health and beauty.”

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As well as the 12 stores shutting in January, the retailer has confirmed a further two stores will close in February.

These are Winton, Dorset, on February 6, and Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, on February 8.

Darren MacDonald, Poundland’s UK country manager, said: “We know how disappointing it is when we leave a store, but before we close our doors for a final time, we’re determined to say goodbye by offering even more amazing value to customers.

“The special reductions, on top of the value we provide in every store, will help us leave locations we’re leaving with pride.

“And when we close our doors, we look forward to welcoming customers to one of the hundreds of Poundland stores we’ll continue to operate right across the UK.”

The first Poundland stores to shutter this month are in Bexhill, East Sussex, Ponders End, Greater London, and Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire.

All three stores will close their doors for the last time on January 5.

The full list of closures in January, and the confirmed dates, are:

• Bexhill, East Sussex – January 5
• Ponders End, Greater London – January 5
• Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland – January 5
• Faversham, Kent – January 6
• Mitcham, Greater London – January 14
• Liverpool, Merseyside – January 15
• Yeovil, Somerset – January 16
• Cameron Toll, Edinburgh, Scotland – January 20
• Nottingham Eastpoint, Nottinghamshire – January 22
• Lymington, Hampshire – January 23
• Christchurch (47 High Street), Dorset – January 23
• Bristol Avon Meads, Bristol – January 29

Card Factory has issued a warning about lower profits due to “well-publicised” pressures on the high street. The retail chain has reported ongoing challenges with low high street footfall during the crucial festive trading period, indicating UK store sales have fallen short of previous expectations.

It has predicted a lower adjusted pre-tax profit than last year of between £55million and £60million, unless trading significantly improves. The group had previously predicted “mid-to-high single digit” percentage growth from the previous year’s result of £66million. In September, its adjusted profits were reported down 9% to £13.2million.

In a trading update today, December 12, a spokesperson for the Card Factory said: “Over recent months, the pressures facing the UK consumer have been well publicised. It is an inescapable fact that these pressures have impacted consumer confidence and shopping behaviour, contributing to soft high street footfall.

“Those conditions have persisted as we moved into our most important trading period, leading to a UK store sales performance which is lower than our previous expectations.

“On the assumption that current trading trends persist over the remaining seven weeks of our financial year, we now expect to deliver adjusted Profit Before Tax for the full financial year between £55m and £60m.”

The board said it remains confident in Card Factory’s long-term strategy, including its ‘Simplify and Scale’ productivity and efficiency programme, which aims to mitigate the impact of inflation.

The retailer has more than 1,000 stores across the UK and Ireland, but it said performance in the Republic of Ireland and North America has remained in line with expectations, and its integration of Funky Pigeon is on track.

Major retailer Poundland has confirmed the closure of additional UK stores following the sale of the budget brand earlier this year. In June, owners Pepco sold the brand to a US investment company, Gordon Brothers, for £1, and as part of the deal, a huge restructuring plan was announced and approved, leading to a significant number of stores being removed from the high streets.

This summer saw a huge number of Poundland stores launch sales ahead of the shops’ closing down for good. The chain has now confirmed that these closures will continue into 2026, with stores scheduled to close throughout December and into February. 

The new plan will see the chain’s network of around 800 UK stores slashed to 650 to 700 stores. By the end of December, 18 more Poundland stores would have closed, with two scheduled to cease operation from tomorrow. 

Items in the stores that are closing have been reduced, with some offers up to 40% off, while stock lasts.

Darren MacDonald, Poundland’s UK country manager, said: “We know how disappointing it is when we leave a store, but before we close our doors for a final time, we’re determined to say goodbye by offering even more amazing value to customers. 

“The special reductions, on top of the value we provide in every store, will help us leave locations we’re leaving with pride. And when we close our doors, we look forward to welcoming customers to one of the hundreds of Poundland stores we’ll continue to operate right across the UK.”

Dozens of high street pharmacies have been saved from closure after a new deal was agreed to keep vital services running in towns across the country. Allied Pharmacies has confirmed it will take over the running of 60 high street branches, helping to protect jobs and ensure local communities continue to have access to essential healthcare.

The company said its “immediate priority” is to reopen pharmacies that were closed or struggling, and to restore services to the areas that rely on them most. Many of the affected locations had reportedly faced long periods of disruption in recent months, with closures linked to staffing shortages and low stock levels.

The 60 pharmacies were previously operated by Jhoots, a chain with around 150 branches across the UK. Several had already closed, and others were facing an uncertain future.

Some branches are thought to have shut suddenly, leaving locals without access to prescriptions, consultations and other support.

In a statement, Allied Pharmacies said: “We recognise the fundamental role that community pharmacies play in supporting public health and wellbeing and understand the disruption caused by these closures, particularly for vulnerable groups who depend on local access to vital healthcare services.”

It added that the wider industry had been under pressure for years, blaming what it called “systemic underfunding for almost a decade” and warning that more support is needed to prevent further closures.

As part of the new deal, Allied Pharmacies said it will also work to rebuild confidence with staff and customers. It confirmed it is “taking steps to address outstanding salary arrears of employed staff” who were affected by the takeover.

According to The Sun, staff at Jhoots Pharmacies were reportedly owed hundreds of thousands of pounds in missed wages. Locum pharmacists, who often work on a freelance basis, were among those said to have been impacted.

The Pharmacists Defence Association claimed the total unpaid wages could be as high as £670,000.

Allied Pharmacies said it appreciated the efforts of those affected during a “difficult period” and encouraged any locum workers to contact the administrators of Jhoots.

The company already operates around 150 branches and the move brings its total number of sites to over 200 across England and Wales.