A MAJOR charity with 600 stores is set to close down a branch after 20 years.
Shoppers have been left devastated as a long-standing Barnardo’s charity shop in Knutsford is set to close after more than two decades.
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The branch on Tatton Street will shut its doors for the final time on Friday, February 14, marking the end of an era for many loyal customers.
To clear out remaining stock, the store is holding a massive closing-down sale, with everything priced at just £1 and all new goods slashed by 50 per cent.
Store manager Mike Douglas announced the sad news on social media, writing: “I would like to say a big thank you for all the support over the years, but Barnardo’s have decided to close the store.
“Our last day of trade is this Friday the 14th, so thank you from Mike, Holly and all our volunteers.
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“Everything is £1, new goods 50 per cent off. Great for resellers and market stall holders. We still have loads left.
“Many thanks from Michael, Holly and everyone in children’s services like myself, who use this funding to run a free phone line for families and carers struggling or in crisis with a child with ADHD.”
Heartbroken customers flooded social media with messages of support, with one saying: “Sorry to hear this news. You have been there a long time. Sad times.”
Another added: “I’m so sorry to read this. You have been wonderful over the years, passing on unsaleable clothes for me to make scarecrows out of for Smithy Green, Lower Peover.
“Thank you so much for all your invaluable help.”
A third wrote: “That’s sad to hear after all the years of good work!”
Barnardo’s, which operates nearly 600 charity shops across the UK, uses its retail profits to support children and families in need.
The organisation has been helping young people for over 150 years, aiming to make childhoods safer and happier.
According to data from the Centre for Retail Research 2024 saw 13,479 stores closed and more than 169,000 retail jobs lost.
Why are retailers closing stores?
RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
However, additional costs have added further pain to an already struggling sector.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs from April 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.
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.”
It comes after almost 170,000 retail workers lost their jobs in 2024.
End-of-year figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research showed the number of job losses spiked amid the collapse of major chains such as Homebase and Ted Baker.
It said its latest analysis showed that a total of 169,395 retail jobs were lost in the 2024 calendar year to date.
This was up 49,990 – an increase of 41.9% – compared with 2023.
It is the highest annual reading since more than 200,000 jobs were lost in 2020 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced retailers to shut their stores during lockdowns.
The centre said 38 major retailers went into administration in 2024, including household names such as Lloyds Pharmacy, Homebase, The Body Shop, Carpetright and Ted Baker.
Around a third of all retail job losses in 2024, 33% or 55,914 in total, resulted from administrations.
Experts have said small high street shops could face a particularly challenging 2025 because of Budget tax and wage changes.
Professor Bamfield has 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.”
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