A MAJOR high street chain with 1,400 stores in the UK has confirmed a branch is to close at the end of this month.
The WHSmith shop in Crown Walk, Bicester, will shut its doors for the final time on August 30.
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It comes as site’s landlord has agreed a new letting of the unit, with staff having to be redeployed to “nearby stores”, Oxford Mail reports.
The retailer has 600 stores on the high street, along with more than 800 travel stores located in airports, train stations, hospitals, workplaces and motorway services.
A spokesperson said: “We can confirm the WHSmith store in Bicester will be closing at the end of this month.
“The landlord has agreed a new letting of the unit and unfortunately as a result we will be closing our store on August 30.
“We are disappointed to be losing our presence in Bicester and we would like to thank all our customers for their support and for shopping with us.
“We are also extremely grateful for the commitment of our in-store colleagues who we will support with this transition and redeploy to nearby stores, where possible.”
The announcement comes days after retail giant gave another major update.
The retailer said that it won’t be opening up any more high street branches as it looks to place its focus elsewhere.
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The boss of WHSmith has told the BBC that the retail giant will not be opening up any more UK high street stores.
Instead, it will be placing its focus on UK airports and train stations, as well as looking to expand in the US and Europe.
Similarly, Tesco is to permanently close one of its stores within weeks after axing its discount chain.
The retail giant closed its bargain supermarket brand Jack’s last year, converting six of the 13 branches into new Tesco superstores, while the others permanently closed.
And Marks and Spencer set to shut another store for good following a string of closures.
It comes after the retailer revealed that it will permanently shut ten of its stores and relocate to new sites this year.
