SHOPPERS are devastated as high street kid’s retailer as a branch in a shopping centre is due to close its doors for good in weeks.
Smiggle is an Australian brand which was founded in 2003, selling stationery and accessories.
The brand came to the UK in 2014 and opened a branch in Dundee’s Overgate shopping centre two years later.
Smiggle has 117 branches in the UK and its shops are usually small but offer an array of colours and bright designs.
Along with a variety of stationery products, the stores also offer lunch boxes, diaries and even headphones and speakers.
Signs in the Dundee branch are now offering 50 per cent off end of lease sale.
According to The Courier, the shop, which employs around 10 staff, is set to close for good on January 18.
Centre manager Malcolm Angus said: “Smiggle has been a valuable member of the Overgate retail line up since March 2016, adding to the centre’s diverse retail mix.
“We wish Smiggle and all their staff every success moving forward and thank them for their contribution to Overgate for the last eight years”.
Earlier this month, the branch of Argos on the upper floor is due to close at the end of March, having been in the shopping centre for more than 20 years.
The centre was bought by Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group earlier this year.
The former Debenhams branch, which had been empty for three years is due to be transformed into a Frasers department store.
Work is already underway to strip out the multi-level shop.
While Smiggle and Argos may be leaving the store, retailers Rituals and Pandora are moving in.
As well, luxury retailer Flannels, which sells brands by Prada, Christian Louboutin and Tom Ford is thought to be mulling the idea of opening in the Overgate as well.
Plenty of major retailers and small businesses have been hit hard in recent years as consumers turn to online retail.
High inflation since 2022 has seen households’ budgets squeezed too, meaning they’ve got less expendable cash.
That, combined with high energy and wage costs, has seen a number of businesses forced to close stores.
In July, Boots Pharmacy said it would be closing 300 branches as part of plans to consolidate its portfolio.
Meanwhile, a number of retailers have crashed into administration, including Paperchase, M&Co and most notably Wilko.
But it’s not all bad news as a number of retailers have been expanding, like Poundland.
Supermarket chain Iceland has been opening stores, with some under the Iceland Local brand.
Primark and B&M have all been growing their portfolios too, with B&M acquiring 51 former Wilko sites.
Meanwhile, Paperchase has since relaunched 250 concession stores in Tesco branches and Wilko has returned to the high street.
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
