The Sun’s business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.Primark is also opening new branches and investing and renovating more than a dozen of its existing shops.

The major discounter has stopped short of saying when it wants to reach the 1,000 store target, however.Aldi said each new store opening will create around 40 new jobs on average.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.Other retailers, such as Homebase, Boots, and Clarks, have been reducing the number of their high-street branches.

A second wrote: “Another piece of history and friendly staff gone.”The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.While a fifth said: “Such a shame. It was affordable and you could always get something good.It has already pulled the shutters down on seven stores in recent months:

Beer giant Heineken announced plans to invest £39million to help reopen 62 previously shuttered British pubs.It has yet to give the exact locations where it will open the 100 stores or when they will open.

Home Bargains, which was running just under 600 branches as of last June, has said it wants to “eventually have between 800 and 1,000 retail outlets open”.The Deal store closure is not the only one to be announced by The Original Factory Shop this year either.The brand opened two new stores in March, and a further three new shops will open this month.The shock closure has left several local customers devastated, although the trader maintains around 190 branches nationwide.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.EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre’s decline.Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open. 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.

Other The Original Factory Shop closures

The Body Shop collapsed into administration on February 13, putting its almost 198 branches at risk of closure.Aldi has announced that it will open 35 new UK stores.

• Brightlingsea, Essex
• Bodmin, Cornwall
• Chepstow, Wales
• Fakenham, Norfolk
• Harwich, Essex
• Mildenhall, Suffolk
• Padiham, Lancashire
• Taunton, Somerset

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.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.”Obviously, this has not been a business decision as business was good, but another sign of the times.”

• Kirkintilloch – opened August 24
• Stonehaven – opened August 31
• Blandford Forum – opened August 31
• Haddington – opened September 7
• Wetherby – opened September 7
• Nairn – opened September 14
• Ashbourne – opened September 14
• Castle Douglas – opened September 21
• Penrith – opened September 21
• Inverness – opened September 28
• Attleborough – opened September 28
• Ayr – opened October 5
• Ringwood – opened October 5
• Perth – opened October 12
• Lanark – opened October 19
• Peterhead – opened October 26

Retail woes

One of the UK’s favourite bakery chains, Greggs, has exclusively revealed to The Sun plans to open more outlet branches by the end of 2025.The discounter, known for its bargain prices, is closing its branch in Deal today, Saturday 28.”That’s awful news,” another declared.A MUCH-LOVED bargain shop chain is pulling the shutters down on one of its stores in just a few hours.In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Wilko, Debenhams Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Paperchase to name a few.Several big retailers have fallen into administration in the past year, including Wilko, Paperchase, and most recently, The Body Shop and Ted Baker.But it’s not all bad news, as it has been opening stores across the UK too, as it shakes up its presence on the high street.However, it’s not all bad news for the high street, as several other retailers and hospitality venues have plans to expand.A third commented: “I love this shop. I go to Deal, from Dover, regularly the main reason being the factory shop.Screwfix is set to open 40 new stores nationwide as its owner, Kingfisher, seeks to expand the DIY brand’s national presence.Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and storiesRising rents, energy bills, and the cost of living have also caused many retailers to fail.After the Deal store closes, three of The Original Factory Shops will remain in Kent: Tenterden, Biggin Hill and Headcorn.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.”Now probably destined for townhouses and artisanal deli’s selling £4 sourdough bread.”It comes after the retailer, known for selling everything from clothing to homeware and stationery, shut a number of branches last year.Boss Stuart Machin recently said that when it relocated a tired store in Chesterfield to a new big store in a retail park half a mile away, its sales in the area rose by 103 per cent.The supermarket is set to invest £550million in expanding its UK footprint this year alone.The closure is down to the building being redeveloped and the chain being unable to renew the lease.

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.”Don’t think I will be shopping at Deal much after it closes.”One Facebook user said: “Such a terrible end to such a popular store.The retailer thanked local shoppers for their support over the years.