Eight shops a week closing in East Midlands
Some eight shops closed every week in the East Midlands in the first six months of the year – making the region one of the hardest hit by the retail downturn in the UK.
Derby experienced the greatest impact across the region’s cities with a net loss of 15 stores with 5 opening and 20 closing. This was followed by Leicester with a net loss of 8 stores with 16 openings and 24 closures. Nottingham saw the lowest net loss of the region’s cities with 5 stores with 26 openings and 31 closures.
However, the high streets of West Bridgford and Corby are bucking the trend with both seeing a net growth of 2 stores, and Wellingborough Road in Northampton a net growth of 1 – these were amongst the only areas in the Midlands as a whole to see net growth.
According to research compiled for PwC by the Local Data Company (LDC), between January and July, a total of 202 shops closed at the region’s main shopping destinations.
Compared to the same period in 2018 when 217 shops closed, it is one of only four regions in Britain to see a drop in net closures. However, this is offset with the lowest number of store openings (108) in five years. The number of shops in the region has fallen from 4,550 in January to 4,456 in July.
The half year net decline in the East Midlands of 2.1% is greater than the average on Britain’s high streets of 1.83% – which is the highest since records began.
|
Country/ English Region* |
Number of store openings | Number of store closures |
Net change H1 2018-19 |
% change H1 2018-19 |
| Greater London | 454 | 780 | -326 | -1.8 |
| South East | 240 | 407 | -167 | -1.5 |
| South West | 119 | 242 | -123 | -1.9 |
| East Of England | 143 | 261 | -118 | -2.1 |
| West Midlands | 148 | 261 | -113 | -2.2 |
| East Midlands | 108 | 202 | -94 | -2.1 |
| Yorkshire & the Humber | 152 | 241 | -89 | -2.1 |
| North West | 98 | 173 | -75 | -1.5 |
| Scotland | 86 | 140 | -54 | -1.7 |
| North East | 55 | 93 | -38 | -1.7 |
| Wales | 31 | 68 | -37 | -2.3 |
| Total | 1634 | 2868 | -1234 | -1.8 |
Source: Local Data Company
Andy Lyon, retail and consumer leader for PwC in the Midlands, said: “The success stories of West Bridgford and Corby demonstrate how the blend of leisure and experience are reviving high streets, and when shopping centres get this balance right it results in a thriving local scene where consumers want to spend their time and cash.
“The region’s cities have been particularly hard hit by the downturn in store openings. However, initiatives such as the government’s £675m High Street fund which Nottingham has accessed to redevelop the West End Arcade, the £2bn regeneration of Southside, including the Broadmarsh redevelopment, are bringing new homes, offices, retail, leisure and culture experiences into the city.
“Leicester has been riding high following its footballing success and Richard III discovery which is attracting additional footfall. However, even with concerted efforts to create more of an experiential environment, for example with the Wheel of Light in Jubilee Square, the retail environment proved too challenging for a number of businesses.
“Derby’s high street has also been significantly impacted but with its two Business Improvement Districts; the Cathedral Quarter and St Peters Quarter, it is now not just a retail space but a district for business, leisure and living.”
The East Midlands saw some parts of the high street thriving with convenience stores (4), fast food takeaways (3), coffee shops (3) and discount stores (3) all opening new premises across the region. Whereas there was a fall in the number of mens clothes shops (-10), bookmakers (-9) and charity shops (-7).
Continued Brexit uncertainty was a key factor in the downgrading of consumer spending projections in PwC’s latest Economic Outlook, despite strong wage growth.
