A major UK supermarket with 900 stores will shut a seaside town branch following a string of closures across the country. Budget chain Iceland informed staff the Margate store will close forever on June 21, reports Kent Online, and they will be redistributed to other branches where possible.
The announcement comes nearly a decade after the College Square branch opened, following in the footsteps of four other Iceland stores this year. A spokesperson for Iceland said: "We can confirm our Margate Iceland store will close. Our store colleagues have entered into a consultation process and have been offered opportunities at surrounding stores where possible."
People have expressed their disappointment online, responding to the news reported by the The Isle of Thanet News.
One said, "Another nail in the Margate shopping coffin," while another added, "Omg there’s nothing left!! Everything in Margate is closing".
The Works on Margate High Street will close on June 8 this year.
Frozen goods retailer Iceland closed all Channel Islands branches last year due to a new franchise agreement, which meant goods would be sold in Alliance stores. This was followed by the closure of its Borehamwood and Exeter stores on January 4 this year, Welling on February 1, and Derby on February 22.
It's not the only supermarket scaling back this year following a huge announcement by Morrisons, as well as a number of retailers that will shut up shop.
Morrisons announced it would shut 17 Morrisons Daily convenience stores, more than 50 Morrisons Cafés, as well as Market Kitchens, florists, meat counters, fish counters and pharmacies.
New Look announced it would completely wind down operations in Ireland, at the cost of nearly 350 jobs, and it confirmed four closures in England and Wales this year.
WHSmith is redirecting focus to travel retail in airports, train and service stations, shutting 17 stores this year, while Homebase went into administration and many will reopen under The Range.
Despite closing some stores, Iceland's spin-off company, Food Warehouse, is faring well.
The supermarket plans to open around 20 stores this year, "most" of which will be Food Warehouse, a bulk grocery retailer.
