Food retailer Iceland has revealed plans to close four more stores – bringing the total number of closures this year to 18.
The first store set to close its doors for good is in the Bridge Centre, Fratton in Portsmouth. The branch will close on Saturday, August 26.
The store was originally earmarked for closure in October, however plans appear to have been brought forward. According to The Mirror, signs were put up in the store reading “Sorry! This store is permanently closing from 4pm on Saturday 26th August”.
The store in Llanelli, Wales, will then be closing its doors on Saturday, September 2 at 5pm. The town centre branch is one of just two Iceland shops in the area – the other being a Food Warehouse at Llanelli’s Parc Pemberton Retail Park.
Councillor David Darkin, who is president of Llanelli Chamber of Trade and Commerce said the closure was “sad news” for the area. He did however say it presents a “great opportunity for the town”.
After that the store in Crewe town centre will shut its doors on Saturday, September 16. The Market Centre branch’s closure was initially announced in June.
The closure will coincide with another in Birkenhead in the Wirral. The shop, on Grange Road, next to Pyramids Shopping Centre, will shut its doors for good after it finishes trading at 6pm.
There are two other Iceland stores as well as a Food Warehouse site located nearby in Birkenhead. It should mean shoppers won’t have too far to go after the closure.
These are the stores we understand to be closing, on these dates – if we are incorrect, let us know. It is uncertain at this time how many Iceland staff overall will be affected by this round of closures.
In a statement about the closures, an Iceland spokesperson previously told The Mirror: “Across Iceland and The Food Warehouse we have a portfolio of over UK 1,000 stores, and our retail estate has grown by nearly 200 stores over the last ten years.
“We typically open more than 20 new stores each year, creating many new jobs and contributing to the growth of local economies. At the same time, we continually review the retail experience offered to our customers and have always made a small number of store closures every year, as local shopping patterns change and shop leases expire. The business is currently trading very strongly, achieving record market shares.”
Iceland has more than 800 branches and 153 Food Warehouse stores across the UK, and last year opened 24 new branches. Overall, Iceland has closed 17 branches this year. The Mirror has contacted Iceland for comment on the closures.
