Coffee chain with over 1,300 shops in UK to close high street shop TOMORROW

Posted by author January 11, 2025 Shopping

A HUGE coffee chain with over 1,300 shops in the UK is closing one of its high street shops tomorrow.

Starbucks is shutting its doors at one of its stores in Dumfries, Scotland.

The coffee giant already has 1,066 UK branchesCredit: Getty

The coffee shop, which is located on Dumfries High Street, will pull down its shutters on Sunday, January 12.

A Starbucks spokesperson said the company was looking into positions nearby for a new shop.

They added: “We regularly review our portfolio to ensure our stores are relevant for our customers.

“We thank our customers for their loyalty over the years and invite them to find their nearest store on Annan Road, Dumfries, and to see others on the Starbucks Store Locator.”

Coffee enthusiasts took to social media to express their disappointment with one user saying “another good shop gone.”

Another punter said: “Shame for those losing their jobs.”

A third added: “Hope the workers get new jobs always sad for the rapidly declining town.”

The popular chain will also be shutting up shop in Northampton on January 19.

The Starbucks branch inside the Cineworld at Sixfields Leisure will permanently close in a blow for caffeine addicts.

It comes as Cineworld announced six of its cinemas, including the Northampton site, will close following a restructuring process.

New Starbucks CEO takes over coffee chain struggling to keep customers – as fans gripe that prices are ‘absurd’

Starbucks also closed one of its Reading cafes in April last year.

Locals were also surprised to hear their Dalton Park store, in Murton, Country Durham, closing down in 2024.

One said: “Wish all the lovely staff good luck. They were always very friendly and made the best coffee around.

“Much better than Costa. Will miss it, was a lovely treat at Dalton Park. No other decent coffee places there now.”

Elsewhere, Starbucks pulled down the shutters on its coffee house in Witney, Oxford.

The coffee shop was located in Market Square, Woolgate Shopping Centre.

Posting on Facebook one client said: “It’s sad to see such an amazing place in Witney closing down!

“Much better than the one in Sainsbury’s.”

RETAIL PAIN IN 2025

The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.

Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.

A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.

Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.

The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.

It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.

Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: “The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025.”

Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.

“By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer’s household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020.”

The retailer recently announced the opening of 100 new stores across the UK – which will include a mixture of company-operated and franchised stores.

Over £30million will be spent on opening new cafes in the next few months.

The coffee giant already has 1,066 UK branches – 318 of which are company-owned and 748 are run by licensees.

You can find your nearest Starbucks branch by visiting starbucks.co.uk/store-locator.

What is happening in the hospitality industry?

Food and drink chains in general have been suffering as the cost of living has led to fewer people spending on eating out.

Businesses had been struggling to bounce back after the pandemic, only to be hit with soaring energy bills and inflation.

Multiple chains have been affected, resulting in big-name brands like Wetherspoons and Frankie & Benny’s closing branches.

Other coffee chains such as Costa and Caffe Nero have closed branches over the past few months.

Most recently, Revolution Bars Group has revealed to The Sun it will shutter 11 locations on August 11 as part of a major overhaul.

It added a further undisclosed site will close, or has already closed.

The chain currently operates 38 Revolution-branded sites across the UK.

Bars will welcome in guests for the final time in Blackpool, Chester and Norwich next month.

Plus, Premier Inn owner Whitbread is set to axe 1,500 jobs and close over 200 restaurants and pubs in the coming months.

Whitbread plans to slash its chain of branded restaurants across the UK in favour of building more hotel rooms.

Elsewhere, some chains have not survived, Byron Burger fell into administration last year, with owners saying it would result in the loss of over 200 jobs.

Pizza giant, Papa Johns announced plans in recent months to shut down 43 of its stores.

Tasty, the owner of Wildwood, said it will shutter the sites as part of major restructuring plans.

The brand also announced plans to close 20 loss-making restaurants after a “challenging” start to the year.

Britain’s biggest pub company, Stonegate, has raised fears about its survival as it races to plug its debts.

Stonegate owns 4,432 sites across the UK under the Slug & Lettuce, Be at One, Sports Bar & Grill brands and 350 traditional style pubs under its “Proper Pubs” banner.