Shoppers have been left devastated by the news that Sainsbury’s is to close its “little gem” branch in Chester City Centre. The store has been a popular destination for shoppers for a decade, but the supermarket giant has made the difficult decision to close it down on September 14th of this year.
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “We are currently talking to our colleagues in our Chester Watergate Street Local store, which we have made the difficult decision to close.
“We understand this will be an unsettling time for those affected and we are supporting them in every way we can, including exploring opportunities for colleagues to redeploy within Sainsbury’s.
“We regularly review our property estate and the decision to close a store is never taken lightly and is based on a range of factors.”
The closure of the Chester store is part of a wider trend of store closures on the UK high street. In recent years, a number of major brands have fallen into administration, including Wilko and Paperchase. High energy and wage costs, as well as business rates, have put pressure on businesses, forcing many to close.
However, it’s not all bad news on the high street. A number of chains are still opening branches, including B&M, Aldi, and Screwfix. Major supermarket chain Asda has also been opening dozens of branches across the UK.
Customers of the Chester Sainsbury’s store will be able to continue shopping at the nearby Chester supermarket or the Faulkner Street Local store.
