‘The town centre is dead,’ slam shoppers as bargain fashion chain with over 100 stores to close site in WEEKS

A BARGAIN fashion chain with over 100 locations is gearing up to shut one of its stores in weeks.

Select Fashion has announced it will be closing doors of its branch in Ipswich for good.

The brand was founded in 1980 and has become a staple of the high street, with more than 100 stores across the UK.

But its location in Buttermarket shopping centre will pull down the shutters on June 11.

In light of the closure, Select has launched a massive clearance with up to 50 per cent off on all items.

The fashion retailer has confirmed the sad news to its customers in a social media post.

A statement on Facebook read: “We regret to inform our customers that Select Ipswich will be closing down for good on June 11, 2024.

“We are sad to be closing down but this is the perfect opportunity to come down and support us in our final weeks with our closing down sale.”

Select fashion, owned by Turkish entrepreneur Cafer Mahiroglu, offers affordable clothing, accessories, and footwear to young women.

The Ipswich location has gained praise with Google reviews applauding its customer service and pricing.

One reviewer wrote: “Lovely stuff and great prices. Staff always seem happy and always happy to help you.”

Another one added: “My favourite shop good deals on clothes love there Jeggings in there.”

Shoppers and locals have been left distraught after finding out the branch has closed permanently.

One person exclaimed: “The town centre is dead!”

Another one added: “The amount of businesses surely goes to prove Ipswich is dying, on its knees and breathing its last.”

Someone else wrote: “I liked select and bought quite a few clothes there.”

Another person slammed store closures, saying: “All I see in local news is store closing IPSWICH, bar closing IPSWICH, Restaurant closing IPSWICH. It’s soul destroying.

“And you try and talk to anyone about it and the answer you get is ‘it’s the same on every high street!’ It 100% is not!!!”

Locals have been fearing a “ghost town” in Ipswich after Poundland closed down its branch in February.

A cinema group with more than 40 sites also closed one of its locations in Ipswich just two months after opening.

Omniplex Cinemas only took over the Buttermarket location from Empire Cinema last December but already set to close in March this year.

Select Fashion also closed its store in Ashford’s County Square shopping centre in Kent in February.

A month later, the retailer shut down its branch in the Erith Riverside Shopping Centre in London.

What else is happening on the high street?

The face of the high street is changing at a rapid rate leaving some town centres almost unrecognisable.

Since the shops shut down during the pandemic many people took to shopping online and have continued with that trend.

This has left many high street retailers with a much lower footfall meaning that having physical stores is no longer viable.

This coupled with the rising cost of living and increased rents has seen some big-name retailers vanish altogether.

In February this year, the iconic health and beauty chain Body Shop fell into administration, putting more than 2,000 jobs at risk.

Seven stores closed immediately and since then 75 more closures have been announced.

We have the full list of sites that have been earmarked for closure.

Elsewhere retailers such as Boots and Marks and Spencer are taking drastic action and shaking up their portfolio of stores in a bid to survive.

M&S, which runs 405 stores across the country, shut down locations in Manchester, Swindon and Birmingham between August and November last year.

However, it also opened up several new locations in November, including Lakeside and the Trafford Centre.

It is all part of the retailer’s five-year plan to ensure it has the stores in the best locations possible.

We have the full list of M&S store openings and closures – see if yours is on the list.

Boots has also been closing down branches, it started in 2020 when it shut down 48 opticians with the loss of 4,000 jobs.

Since then it has been closing locations up and down the country, leaving a wake of disgruntled locals behind it.

Some shoppers have reported “queues out of the door” at alternative pharmacies, following the closure of their local Boots.

However, Boots has said that it is only closing premises where there is an alternative within three miles.

We have the full list of Boots stores that have already shut and those that have been earmarked for closure – is yours on the list?

This month, 14 stores will be exiting the high street, as 14 retailers including M&S and Costa will pull the shutters down on locations for the final time.