High street blow as chain pulls out
MACCLESFIELD’S Mothercare store will close next month, it has been announced.
Bosses have confirmed it will shut on September 30 but did not respond when asked how many jobs will be lost.
They say the move is part of a restructure of the company.
Councillor Jane Jackson, who represents Macclesfield’s central ward, told the Express she was stunned by the news and that it was a ‘ blow’ to the town.
She said: “It is a big loss to the town. I am really shocked to hear it, I didn’t know it was definitely closing. I was aware that Mothercare were looking at various locations to close but I was hoping that Macclesfield would survive the knife.
“It is just another blow to the town and it seems that retail is transferring more and more to online and it seems that a lot of people now come to towns not for shopping but for experiences, such as restaurants and cafes and the Treacle Market. This is another step back.”
Coun Jackson said the Macclesfield store is an ‘institution’. She said: “As a young mother I regularly shopped there 40 years ago and even very recently bought clothing for my grandchildren. It is an institution.”
Large ‘closing down’ posters have been put up in the Mill Street store windows, as it looks to shift the last of its stock.
Earlier this year the high street giant announced it was looking to close a number of stores nationally but did not confirmed which ones were to be axed.
The news comes after Ask Real Estate pulled out of plans to build a £19m cinema complex on Churchill Way car park - the second time plans to regenerate the town centre have collapsed in the past 10 years.
The town has though been boosted by the unveiling of plans to transform the disused Picturedrome, on Chestergate into a trendy food hall and the opening of a new TK Maxx store in the recently completed extension of the Grosvenor Centre. Town clerk Pete Turner, from Macclesfield Town Council said it was sad to see Mothercare go.
He said: “It is a real disappointment to see that this national retailer is closing stores all over the country, and in particular their store on Mill Street.
“To see such a large shop unit vacant on Mill Street will be very sad, but Macclesfield is a vibrant town and we hope that the investment in the Grosvenor Centre by TK Maxx will encourage other busi- nesses to invest in the town.”
Mothercare said the closure is part of a plans to restructure the company.
A spokesperson for the firm said: “We greatly value all our customers in the area and would like to thank them for their continued loyalty and support for Mothercare. Whilst we regret the closure of the store, it is part of a larger transformation plan for our business.”