REDDITCH has been hit by its fair share of shop closures, but it’s a pattern repeated in high streets right across the West Midlands.
Region-wide some 144 more shops closed in 2017 that opened.
The decline was much steeper than the previous year when the region had a net loss of 60 stores.
And Redditch has fared much better than most, with Hereford suffering more shop closures than any other town in the region.
Such are the findings from research by PwC on behalf of the Local Data Company covering 32 town centres across the region which found 482 shops had closed with just 338 shops opening.
Redditch saw the closure just last Saturday of Marks & Spencer as the UK giant alters its retail strategy, while Maplin on the Trafford Estate is currently holding its closing down sale.
Across the country there were just 4,083 new store openings in 2017, the lowest since 2010. However 5,855 outlets closed resulting in a total of 1,772 shops disappearing.
Shoe shops and clothes shops were hardest hit however the number of coffee shops and beauty salons increased.
