More bookies closing as UK’s High Street crisis worsens
- By: Nathan Marotta
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Shoppers worldwide have transitioned into an online-first mentality and Britain’s retailers have been affected heavily by the change.
British Retail Consortium and Springboard survey figures indicate a large swing on High Streets, with vacancy rates hitting 10.3 per cent in July.
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“Retailers have faced a challenging environment this month, with declines in footfall on High Streets and Shopping Centres,” said Helen Dickinson OBE, CEO of BRC.
“Sluggish sales growth and declining footfall also contributed to the rise in town centre vacancies, which rose to their highest level since January 2015.
“High streets and town centres play an important part in our local communities, and we should be concerned by the rise in empty store fronts.”
Betting giant Ladbrokes Coral has made the executive decision to cut over 1,000 stores in order to focus on the online gambling sector, where more and more punters are taking their business.
The loss of jobs is also significant as employees from the 1,000 Ladbrokes Coral betting shops will have to find work elsewhere.
William Hill is also preparing to close 700 retail betting outlets, which will leave around 4,500 people unemployed.
Online shopping is affecting more stores across Britain than expected, and this four-year low is only the beginning on High Streets.
