Lichfield’s retail landscape looks like being dealt another blow after signs appeared saying Argos would be shutting its store in the city.
Posters in the window of the store at the Three Spires Shopping Centre confirm it will shut on 24th April, with shoppers directed to the store in Tamworth instead.
Argos revealed plans to reduce the number of standalone stores by 2024, with the brand instead moving to become incorporated into Sainsbury’s outlets.
In a trading statement last year, the company’s owners said:
“As we add more Argos stores and collection points in Sainsbury’s, we will close around 420 Argos standalone stores, reducing the UK store estate to around 100 by March 2024”
It is the latest blow for Lichfield after confirmation that Debenhams and Dorothy Perkins will be disappearing too.
Both brands have been bought by online-only retailers forcing the closure of the stores in Lichfield.
These gardens should not be ruined by this traffic plan! For the excuse of saving a minute! In the name of progress!
It is amazing the changes that have come about in only a decade. The giants of the high street are disappearing at an ever increasing rate. How this impacts on the niche shops is hard to predict. There is a crisis in Lichfield with few shops offering general wares. Unless the council changes its ways and searches for a strategy that addresses this growing problem then the economy and visitor viability of the city will be lost forever. There is a real potential for some revival when lockdown is lifted. Act NOW with initiatives and incentives. This might be the last chance.
Terrible news. Sainsbury’s are slowly destroying Argos. I hope the staff have been found other jobs within the organisation.
So does that mean that we are getting a Salisbury’s shop where Argos is now situated
If Debenhams go and Argos we will be left with nothing much at the top of the precinct. The remaining shops will struggle to make a living. Lichfield has become an embarrassment over the years with the amount of shops closing.
Bee n promised reinvestment for years needs to happen soon we are slowing becoming a joke of a city
LDC please note – 1 more reason not to come to shop in Lichfield.
How many more in shopping centre will close within next 3 months?
It’s not “If Debenhams go”. It’s effectively gone. All Debenhams stores are closing. The brand and online part of the business has been sold to Boohoo who did not want the stores. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55793411
Have anyone approached Marks and Spencer to see if they could do a good deal they could take over debbenhams for clothes and argos as a food court, or is this to much for the management to think about or to do any thing about it…
Some of the problems Lichfield have, Vetran ex army, is the lack of easy parking. What parking is available is expensive. For food shopping you need nearby parking. This is why M & S struggled to compete in the precinct shop that closed.
Rates and rents are also very high. This is a disincentive to any store thinking of setting up in a very competitive climate.
The council could think out of the box and scrap parking charges and reduce rates. While this might lead to short term revenue reduction, if it rejuvenates the city then that would be the pay off. Clearly it needs radical thinking and the determination to see it through.