Retailers rise and fall on Britain’s high streets.

Forged on the most iconic street in British retail – London’s Oxford Street – in 1981, this brand rose to be a chain of more than 300 stores in 31 countries by 2009.

You could find a new tie for your first day in the office, cufflinks for special events, or a last minute Father’s Day present.

But by 2013, the shutters were down for good.

JJB Sports

This store was once as iconic for its hometown of Wigan as owner David Whelan, who went on to buy Wigan Athletic.

Under his control, the brand grew from a single shop on the high street to one of the largest sportswear retailers in the country.

But shares had fallen from a total value of £500million in 2010, to just £1.2million by the time it went bankrupt and its 180 stores closed in 2012.

Mothercare

How many memories were formed by parents buying clothes or prams for their first, second or third children during Mothercare’s 58 years on the high streets?

It was the go-to shop for most parents until the big supermarkets, fast fashion brands and online shopping chipped away at its business.

With baby and children’s clothes available all over the place, it no longer held enough market dominance to keep 150 stores open.

While they closed in 2019, the Mothercare brand survives in products sold by Boots.

Woolworths

Roughly 27,000 jobs were lost when Woolworths closed more than 800 stores in 2009.

It had been trading for just a few months short of 100 years, ever since the New Yorker founder of the American brand opened a store in Liverpool.

Selling anything from sweets to jewellery, and clothes and electronics, it was a convenient one-stop shop for almost anything you needed.

But it just couldn’t survive the financial crash with the low cash reserves and large debts it had accrued.

Laura Ashley

This high street fashion and furniture brand fell victim to the Covid-19 pandemic along with hundreds of other businesses, big and small.

It was the first major retailer to go bust here in 2020, leading to an end of the 67 years of it selling clothing, cushions and curtains as a standalone brand.

But it’s survived on the shelves of hundreds of Next stores, and online, where it continues to be sold.

Wilko

The last 111 of Wilko stores shut their doors for a final time in October last year, sparking memories of days spent pushing trolleys down their aisles.

Its stock of stationery, bedding and even garden tools made it an ideal spot for anyone from young families to students furnishing their flats as they left home for the first time.

For the 10,000 people who worked their, it was a lifeline.

Dixons

Once the leading high street retailer of electronic goods like sat navs, fridges and digital cameras, Dixons ever present sight for nearly 70 years.