ROLL AWAY
Beloved family run bakery abruptly ceases trading after nearly 60 years
The business has blamed price increases and economic pressures
A BELOVED family run bakery has abruptly ceased trading after almost 60 years as price increases bite.
Copland Family Bakers has shut the doors to both its stall on Great Yarmouth's market and shop in nearby Gorleston after 57 years.
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The Great Yarmouth Mercury reported that a sign posted to the shop said: "We would like to thank all our customers for their continued support and loyalty over these difficult years.
"Unfortunately due to today's continued price rises and economy etc, we have had to close our doors after 57 years of trading."
The bakery's fans in the seaside towns have expressed their disappointment at its closure.
One said: "So sad to see them go."
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Another added: "Very sad."
Closures have been seen amongst both independent retailers and high street chains already in 2025.
And, Copland is not the first bakery to be impacted.
Oddie's bakery last week revealed it would close all its stores for good - putting 100 people out of work.
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The beloved family-run chain, founded in 1905, was famed for its freshly-baked loaves and crisp pastry pies.
A spokesman confirmed it would close 16 sites and added: "Like all businesses, cost pressures have continued to escalate, not least through the energy crisis which has depleted much of the company's reserves."
The Body Shop to close seven stores immediately
Other closures
Plenty of other retailers are closing stores across the country's high streets as households lean towards online shopping.
Businesses have also been impacted by high business rates and cost pressures and are anticipating a dramatic increase in employment costs from April.
Soaring inflation in recent years has also dented shoppers' pockets.
The Centre for Retail Research's latest analysis suggests 13,479 stores, the equivalent of 37 each day, shut for good in 2024.
Fashion chain Monki, owned by H&M, has announced it will close all of its high street stores with one in Arndale, Manchester having shut yesterday.
The Body Shop is pulling down the shutters on five branches on January 15 in Exeter, Plymouth, Horsham, Norwich and Sheffield.
Three other branches have already closed in Cambridge and Hove.
Stationer WHSmith is closing a branch in Bournemouth on January 15.
The Entertainer, which has 160 branches across the UK, has also confirmed it will permanently shutter its branch in Croydon's Whitgift shopping centre.
And, Menkind, which sells everything from toys to technology, will close down its branch in Kingfisher shopping centre in Redditch just three months after opening.
All in all, the Centre for Retail Research estimates more stores will close this year than last.
It predicts around 17,350 sites could close for good, made up of around 14,660 independent shops.
Recent years have already seen huge numbers of closures in towns.
For example, Homebase crashed into administration in November, but it was partially rescued by billionaire Chris Dawson who owns The Range and Wilko.
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He is looking to retain up to 70 stores and save 1,600 jobs, however, closing down sales are appearing in stores all across the country.
To find out if a Homebase is closing near you, go on the retailer's website and use the store locator.
Why are retailers closing stores?
RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
However, additional costs have added further pain to an already struggling sector.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs from April will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40.
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."
It comes after almost 170,000 retail workers lost their jobs in 2024.
End-of-year figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research showed the number of job losses spiked amid the collapse of major chains such as Homebase and Ted Baker.
It said its latest analysis showed that a total of 169,395 retail jobs were lost in the 2024 calendar year to date.
This was up 49,990 – an increase of 41.9% – compared with 2023.
It is the highest annual reading since more than 200,000 jobs were lost in 2020 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced retailers to shut their stores during lockdowns.
The centre said 38 major retailers went into administration in 2024, including household names such as Lloyds Pharmacy, Homebase, The Body Shop, Carpetright and Ted Baker.
Around a third of all retail job losses in 2024, 33% or 55,914 in total, resulted from administrations.
Experts have said small high street shops could face a particularly challenging 2025 because of Budget tax and wage changes.
Professor Bamfield has 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."
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