One in eight shops have never reopened since the first lockdown began with 5,500 still closed as tourists and office workers stay home.
Analysis of retailers with more than five stores nationwide found out of 43,766 shops, 5,552 (12 per cent) have kept their doors shut since March, leaving nearly 900 acres of shopping space unused for eight months.
Around 2,000 shops closed permanently, while 36,209 managed to reopen after the first lockdown.
The study by PWC and the Local Data Company found shops in high streets and city centres have been hit hardest, as the chairman of Fenwick department stores declared footfall in London ‘dead’.
Last week alone, more than 9,500 High Street jobs were put at risk, with John Lewis announcing another 1,500 job cuts on top of the 1,300 it was already making.
High streets and city centres, including Liverpool’s, pictured, have been hit hardest by lockdown since March, as more than 5,500 shops have remained closed over the past eight months
Lloyds Bank is to make 1,070 more staff redundant as well as the 865 it had previously announced.
Sainsbury’s confirmed it will cut 3,500 jobs across its Argos stores and its meat, fish and deli counters.
Meanwhile Clarks shoes put the jobs of all 4,000 of its store staff on notice as part of its fight for survival.
With England living under a second lockdown until December 2, ministers have been warned the retail industry faces losing £8billion as it loses out on vital Christmas sales.
Non-essential shops have been forced to close, with some supermarkets including Tesco, cordoning off parts of their stores that contain non-essential items.
Since last Thursday, clothing and electronic stores, among others, have been forced to close.
Food shops, supermarkets and garden centres have been able to stay open.
Tom Ironside, director of policy at the British Retail Consortium, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘[The Government] have decided that some sorts of retailers, supermarkets and pharmacies will be able to trade, and that’s right, but we think some of the restrictions are really quite arbitrary.
‘The timing of this lockdown is clearly extremely difficult for the retail industry. This is the golden quarter for many retailers, and to lose a month of sales during this period is extremely difficult.
‘We estimate that for those classified as non-essential retail forced to close, they’ll be losing £2billion pounds a week during this new lockdown.’
Last week Rishi Sunak announced the Government’s furlough scheme was being extended through to March, as he warned businesses face a ‘difficult,’ winter.
Footfall in London is ‘dead,’ says Fenwick department stores’ chairman Steve Barber, as tourists stay out of the Capital and office workers remain at home. It comes a lack of Christmas trade is costing businesses £2bn a week, according to the British Retail Consortium
Sainsbury’s announced it was cutting 3,500 jobs last week, as John Lewis, Clarks and Lloyds Bank all declared potential job losses
Mr Sunak said last Thursday: ‘It’s clear the economic effects are much longer lasting for businesses than the duration of any restrictions, which is why we have decided to go further with our support.
‘Extending furlough and increasing our support for the self-employed will protect millions of jobs and give people and businesses the certainty they need over what will be a difficult winter.’
Zelf Hussain, retail restructuring partner at PWC, told The Times: ‘Businesses including pubs and bars, Italian restaurants, dentists, cinemas, social clubs and entertainment venues are particularly exposed to remaining mothballed.
‘Hair and beauty, Asian restaurants, estate agents, mobile phone shops and off licences, DIY shops and vaping stores are among those businesses that bounced back quickest and reopened at a higher rate.’
A survey of bosses at Britain’s top retailers has found nearly half expect to cut more jobs in the next six months, with a third planning to shut stores.
A poll of 40 chairmen who together employ two million people found that 46 per cent would be cutting jobs.
Major firms have announced nearly 219,000 job losses since lockdown began in March, the Government has extended its furlough scheme to March, as it predicts a ‘difficult,’ winter
Steve Barber, chairman of Fenwick department stores, said: ‘Revenues have been considerably lower than last year. Footfall in London is dead.’
It comes as Marks and Spencer reported its first loss in its 94-year history as a listed company.
M&S, which has already cut 8,000 staff since March, has seen its large stores suffer while many of its smaller food halls are located in now-empty train stations and airports.
Retail is not the only sector affected by Covid-related job losses. Last week Rolls-Royce announced it was making 1,400 redundancies in the UK, while British Airways has laid off 8,200 workers.
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