A BELOVED department has launched a major sale before it closes down for good.
Sandersons Department Store in Sheffield will close after eight years of being in business, in another blow for the local high street.
In preparation for its closure, the store has launched an 80% off closing down sale to help shift stock.
The retailer has reduced the price of designer brands such as Barbour and Boss, giving locals a chance to bag a bargain.
The store will close for good on March 1, giving shoppers just three days to say their goodbyes.
It also means bargain hunters only have a few days to shop the major sale.
The family-run store, which first opened in 2016 on the site of a former steelworks, was unveiled with fanfare by actress Joanna Lumley.
The store employs 19 staff and offers shoppers a mix of luxury brands and unique items.
However, the company has confirmed that it will focus on its other store in Stroud and expand its growing online business.
In a statement, posted in January, Sandersons said: “We are sorry to tell you that our Fox Valley store will close in March. We’ve loved being part of the community here and look forward to seeing you in the coming weeks.
“We have seen significant growth in our online business, and our unique range of brands will continue to be available to all our customers.
“We’ll also be introducing some great deals across our top brands in the closing down sale.”
The move has upset some locals, with one sharing at the time that they were “absolutely gutted.”
While another said: “Heartbreaking news. I recently came to buy a Pandora bracelet as a treat. Such a stylish shop — it will be missed.”
Sandersons, which is owned by Dransfield Properties, also owns the Fox Valley site.
The company previously said it would assist staff impacted by the closure to secure new positions and hinted at exciting future plans for the shopping centre.
Locals nearest department store is now a 10.2mile journey to Atkinsons of Sheffield.
MORE SHOP CLOSURES
Plenty of other retailers are closing stores across the high street as households lean more towards online shopping and amid high business rates.
Soaring inflation in recent years has also dented shoppers’ pockets.
The Centre for Retail Research’s latest analysis suggests 13,479 stores, the equivalent of 37 each day, shut for good in 2024.
Of those, 11,341 were independent shops while 2,138 were shut by larger retailers.
The data also showed over half the stores that closed last year were shut due to the store or retailer going through insolvency proceedings.
This is when formal measures are taken to deal with tackling a business‘s debt.
Retailers are shutting stores in 2025 too.
DIY chain Homebase will close 33 stores this month following its administration.
Homebase fell into administration in November, with up to 70 of the struggling DIY chain’s branches bought by CDS Superstores, now trading as Wilko, The Range and Homebase.
But that left around 74 branches at risk of closure if no buyers could be found to take them on.
Teneo has confirmed 13 branches closed last month, including in London, Coventry and Bradford.
Now, the 33 stores shutting this month will bring the total number of closed branches to 52, after six closed before the end of 2024.
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.”
