A GLOBAL superbrand has shut one of its enormous UK outlets in a massive blow to high street shoppers.
Rumours had circulated in January that the store could close due to a failure of the company to secure a new lease agreement with its landlords.
Now, we can confirm the Nike store at Craigleith Retail Park in Edinburgh, Scotland, has closed for good.
The storefront at the busy retail park in Scotland’s second largest city was seen painted over in black.
It had been previously understood that the Nike store would shut its doors on January 26.
In a document to staff, shared with Edinburgh Live, Nike had confirmed there could be “proposed redundancies”.
The sportswear retailer indicated that the job losses would come as a result of the failure to secure a new lease agreement at the site.
Its letter to staff read: “Based on results and on Nike being unable to agree a new lease agreement with the landlords, Nike is proposing the closure of Edinburgh Craigleith with an anticipated last trading date of 26th January 2025 resulting in a proposed redundancy situation.”
Shoppers have been mourning the “sad” loss of the store, with one saying: “That’s a shame.
“Have bought a lot of things in it for birthdays/xmas at good prices.
“I’ll miss it.”
Another added: “That’s sad.
“It’s what happens when everyone shops online.
“Shops are closing almost every week now”.
Some were frustrated by the loss of the “very popular” store, calling its closure “pretty annoying”, while others felt “gutted” by the situation.
Another highlighted the recent losses of other stores in the same retail park.
They said: “Ooo no Craigleith has lost Clarks few years ago now Nike.
“Less and less decent shops there.”
Retail pain in 2025
THE British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55 per cent expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39 per cent in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
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 per cent 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.”
Professor Bamfield has also 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.”
A Nike spokesperson had previously said: “We constantly evaluate our store locations to give us the best opportunity to personally connect with consumers through premium products, experiences, and services.
“As part of this retail strategy, the Nike Craigleith Store will close per January 26.”
This comes as one of Britain’s oldest department stores launched a closing down sale just months before its last remaining shop shuts for good.
Beales, which was founded in Bournemouth in 1881, will close its branch in Poole’s Dolphin Centre on May 31.
Starting today, the sale will clear all the remaining stock in the store before it closes its doors for good.
Items including furniture, fashion, gifts and cosmetics are being sold for up to 70 per cent off.
Beales chief executive Tony Brown blamed the “devastating impact” of the rise in national insurance contributions and the higher minimum wage for the shop shutting.
When the closure was announced, he said the business had become “unviable” as it prepared to take on further cost increases which were announced in the October Budget.
