SHOPPERS have been left devastated after a supermarket chain with over 72 stores is set to shut its doors for good in just a few days.
East of England Co-op is rolling down the shutters on its site in Cauldwell Hall Road, Ipswich for good on August 31.
The supermarket chain, which is independent from the Co-op group, sells a range of food and households items and operates a number of store across the east of the UK.
The post office which also trades from the same store will close on the same day.
A notice confirming the closure has been pinned to door of the popular store in Ipswich, according to reports first made in the Ipswich Star.
The statement read: “Our business is going through a portfolio reshape, opening new stores and refurbishing existing ones, as well as consolidating and closing some locations.
“We would like to say a huge thank you to you, our members and customers, and to the team at this store for the service they have provided over the years.”
The Sun has contacted the East of England Co-op for a statement.
Customers have shared their sadness over the store’s closure, with one describing it as a “big loss” in a social media post.
Another said: “I don’t drive so I always use this co-op especially the post office, this is going to be a huge blow to the area.”
While a third wrote: “This is a great shame..very important for the community especially the post office so very handy.”
The shop is set to close in just under a week, giving customers limited time to bid their farewells.
Earlier this year, locals were dealt another blow when it was announced the retailer would close down its outlet at the Rosehill shopping centre.
This is not the only store locals in the area have had to wave goodbye to.
Earlier this year, Select Fashion announced it would be closing doors of its branch in Ipswich for good.
The brand was founded in 1980 and has become a staple of the high street, with more than 100 stores across the UK.
It closed for good on June 11, launching a huge closing down sale in the process.
Next also closed its outlet store in Suffolk Retail Park, Ipswich in February of this year.
East of England Co-op is independent of Co-op and has 73 branches across Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.
Why are retailers closing shops?
EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre’s decline.
The Sun’s business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.
In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.
Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open. In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.
The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.
Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead.
Boss Stuart Machin recently said that when it relocated a tired store in Chesterfield to a new big store in a retail park half a mile away, its sales in the area rose by 103 per cent.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Wilko, Debenhams Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Paperchase to name a few.
What’s increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.
The chain also closed its store at the Triangle shopping centre in the Essex seaside town of Frinton-on-Sea on February 24.
What is happening to the British high street?
The news comes amid a challenging time for the whole of the UK’s retail sector.
High inflation coupled with a squeeze on consumers’ finances has meant people have less money to spend in the shops.
Also the rising popularity in online shopping has meant people are favouring digital ordering over visiting a physical store.
Unseasonably wet weather has also deterred shoppers from hitting the high street.
This ongoing issue has seen brands such as Paperchase, and The Body Shop.