While America is known for its big shopping complexes, the British love their small stores, run by families for generations. These shops feel more like part of the culture and when one of them sadly closes, it hurts a whole community.
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Today, we are looking at some of the most surprising British brands which closed their doors. These iconic stores were part of a legacy, one which sadly ended due to many reasons. Scroll down below and see why and how it happened.
Thomas Cook
The travel agency was Created in 2007, thanks to a very lucrative merger between Thomas Cook AG and MyTravel Group plc, the new brand was the best of both worlds and the public could tell. Thomas Cook became the go-to spot for every traveller in the U.K.
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But due to the ease of internet booking, more and more people opted to plan their holidays themselves and by 2018, the company reported £1.5 billion for the first half of its financial year. Soon, they claimed bankruptcy and closed all their brick and mortar stores and laid off 21,000 employees. This left 600,000 customers stranded abroad and started the largest peacetime repatriation in U.K’s history.
Rumbelows – 1995
The company was started in the 50s as a television and radio shop. The store expanded quickly and started spreading all across the U.K. Rumbelows had hundreds of stores by 1970 and was sold to another business in the 80s.
Rumbelows via YouTube
This new management was unable to Rumbelows or modernise it and by 1992, it started that it was making an annual loss of £12 million. By 1995, the company closed the doors of its final 285 stores.
Freeman, Hardy & Willis – 1999
Our young readers might not be familiar with this store but this footwear chain was a huge part of the United Kingdom’s heritage. Started in 1875 by a Russian immigrant, the store was an instant hit.
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With a shop in nearly every town in the U.K. Sadly though, after 100 years of business, the company closed its doors in 1999. Many of its stores were converted to Hush Puppies shops but they too were unsuccessful.
Tandy – 2001
The bright red and bold letters of the Tandy stores around the U.K can never be forgotten by those who grew up in the 80s and 90s. At one point, they have more than 200 stores in every major city in the U.K.
Tandy via YouTube
Sadly though, Tandy said goodbye to 28 years of UK trading back in 2001, shortly after being bought by Carphone Warehouse. But it’s not a complete end of the brand, since it still sells products online at tandyonline.com.
The Gadget Shop – 2005
Growing up in the 90s, who remembers buying a completely pointless yet fascinating gadget from this store? We know we do! At its height of success, it had 45 branches across the U.K with 700 employees.
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Though unable t0 survive online retailers, the Gadget Shop was bought by the owners of the Entertainer in 2005, who closed all its shops and ran it as an online business only. Nowadays, you can still find Gadget Shop products in other electronics stores.
Dixons – 2006
The high-street electronics brand was created in 1937 and the business grew incredibly fast during the second world war as the public were requiring family portraits and other photography services.
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At one point, the brand had more than 8 stores in London but after the war, the demand for photographs decreased and all but one of the stores remained open. The company closed in 2006, with many of its branches re-branding as Currys digital.
Dewhurst – 2006
The Vestey family which owned the Dewhurst Butchers were at one point the second wealthiest family in the U.K, with only the King behind richer than them. The family were pioneers of refrigeration and opened their first store in 1895.
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In its heyday, the company owned 1,400 stores across the country and had expanded internationally. But with rising rent and energy costs, most of its stores were closed by 2006. The brand is fondly remembered and is – ranked the third ‘most missed’ UK retailer in a YouGov survey.
Woolworths – 2008
The first Woolworths store or Woolies was founded in 1909 and by the first world war, the company had 40 stores all around the United Kingdom. By 1934, there were 600 branches and by 1982, 1000 more stores were built.
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But due to inner conflicts with management, the company was split up and while it tried to rebrand the strategy didn’t work. By 2008, the company went into administration. All stores were closed between December 2008 and January 2009, resulting in 27,000 jobs lost.
MFI – 2008
The furniture retailer was one of the largest of its kind and one survey revealed that 60% of all British children were conceived in bedrooms from MFI! The company was founded in 1964 and was met with early success.
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But the furniture giant stumbled during the recession and the downturn in the housing market, which they never properly recovered from. The company closed down all of its 111 stores in 2008 after it went into administration and failed to sell.
Zavvi – 2008
The company first launched in 1971 under the name of Virgin Megastores and through major mergers only grew throughout the decades. In 2007, Zavvi was founded and was considered one of the largest retailers at the time.
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Though its reign was very short-lived with all its stores closing in January 2009. HMV subsequently purchased some of the stores and reopened them with their name over the doors. They also have relaunched their website.
Principles – 2009
Founded in 1984, the fashion retailer sought to bring modern runway trends to the masses and it was an instant success. The brand even managed to contribute to and create many trends of that time.
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The brand however completely collapsed in 2009 when it wasn’t included in a merger deal by its company, Aurora Fashions. All its brick and mortar stores closed but Debenhams has acquired the brand and continued to sell most of its stock.
Focus – 2011
The DIY store started its life in the 1980s and soon through organic growth and acquisitions became the fourth largest DIY retailer in the UK. At its height, Focus had 400 stores all across the United Kingdom.
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But the success wasn’t meant to be and by 2007, the company reported that it was running losses. Slowly, most of its stores began to close and by May 2011, only 23 remained which were bought by one of its competitors B&Q.
Jane Norman – 2011
Founded by Norman Freed in 1952 and for most of its life, the company stayed in family hands until 2005 when it was purchased by Baugur Group for £117.3 million.
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But by 2011, it had closed all of its 90 stores and reported that it was in £140 million. Around 1,600 jobs were lost and up to 100 concessions across the UK were also shut.
C&A – 2011
While most brands on our list were created in the United Kingdom, C&A is a Dutch brand which had been operating in the U.K since 1922. The company itself was founded in 1841 by two brothers.
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But during the downturn in the UK clothing market, the company closed down many of its stores, at one point there were over 100 stores. The last 11 of them being were bought by Primark.
Borders – 2011
Established in 1998, Borders U.K became independent from its American parent company and was at its peak in the U.K. At its peak, it took about 8% of all retail bookselling markets.
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The stores themselves were treated like coffee shops by locals and all Borders had a Paperchase stationery store and a Starbucks cafe inside them. But due to the ease of online shopping, the company entered administration in 2008 before finally closing its stores in 2011.
Comet – 2012
Founded in Hull in 1933 as a Battery Store it soon became a booming business by the 1950s. And at one point, Comet was the only major retailer offering discounts on Electronics due to their groundbreaking deals with warehouses.
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The company had stayed in family hands since its launch but that also became its undoing since it had to deal with inheritance tax and the recession, the brand collapsed in 2012.
JJB Sports – 2012
The store was founded at the beginning of the 1900s and by 1994 it had 120 stores. By 2002, it started expanding across Europe and had over 430 stores. But this stream of success wasn’t meant to last.
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During the recession, the company faced a £31.5 million debt and despite going through a major restructuring was unable to recover from it. Thankfully, Sports Direct purchased the company’s brand name, website and 20 stores, saving around 550 jobs. But still over 120 stores closed and over 2,000 people were made redundant.
Past Times – 2012
The high street retailer focusing on retro style gifts and goods was created in 1986 and found a devoted niche market to its products. The company was known for making quintessentially British products.
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Not much is known as to the exact inner workings of what led to the brand closing its 97 stores all across the United Kingdom in 2012. In 2012 WHSmith bought the brand name and closed down the Past Times website as well.
Tie Rack – 2013
The British retailed sold scared, cufflinks and of course, ties with small and sophisticated stores tucked into airports, railway stations and shopping centres.
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Founded by South African entrepreneur Roy Bishko in 1981 and at its peak, it had many celebrity brand endorsements including Liverpool F.C. CEO Rick Parry. In 2013, without much warning, it closed all of its 44 stores.
Barratts – 2013
Established in 1903, the company was known for making luxurious shoes and was a favourite of the upper class. The company steadily grew until the 2008 recession when it lost £12.5 million
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By 2013, the company had already been in administration for the third and finally closed its doors and no longer has any UK stores. The brand and company have been purchased by Pavers Shoes.