Cities and towns such as Chester, Loughborough, Nuneaton, Worksop and Swansea will be least affected by the loss of big name brands such as Oasis, Carluccio’s, Cath Kidston and Laura Ashley, according to new research.
A study by online broker Asktraders.com lists the places that will be least impacted by the closures of high street brands which have been accelerated by the coronavirus shutdown.
And it also shows how London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds and Nottingham will take the biggest hit.
The study took into account businesses that have either been dissolved or announced administration since COVID-19 measures were put in place. Many will continue online, but their high street stores will stay closed.
Nigel Frith, senior market analyst at www.asktraders.com said more than 1,100 of the UK’s most famous stores will close for good this year with more than 40,000 jobs lost.
And that does not even include independents which won’t be reopening.
But he said the study was promising for some towns in the UK which won’t be shattered by the current pandemic.
Some 14 towns and cities will lose just one big brand from their high streets.
Whereas London, by contrast, should expect to see the closure of more than 128 high-street favourites.
Manchester is the second city in the UK expecting to see significant decline with more than 54 big stores closures, followed by Glasgow (35 store closures) and Leeds with (34 store closures).
Nigel Frith said: “It’s evident that COVID-19 hasn’t stopped for any retail name, with more obvious financial hits than others. It’s also surprising that these brand names haven’t fallen into any trouble sooner.
“Looking forward, more high street brands will probably fail over the coming days, weeks and even months after COVID-19. Question is, who’s next?”
