SWANSEA: M&S blacked out ‘like it was in mourning’ as Oxford Street store closes after 69 years

The flagship Marks & Spencer in Swansea city centre has closed its doors for the final time, ending almost seven decades on Oxford Street.

The store served its last customers on Saturday, 30 May, bringing to a close what shoppers marked as 69 years in the heart of the city.

Within a day, the M&S signage had been taken down and the windows and doors blacked out, the frontage carrying only a “We’re now closed” notice.

Among those marking the moment was the actress Caroline Berry, who documented the closure and its aftermath.

Berry is a familiar face from Welsh and British television, with a career stretching back more than three decades. Her recent credits include the BBC dramas The Way and Steeltown Murders, the acclaimed Channel 4 series It’s a Sin and The Pembrokeshire Murders, and she is due to appear in an episode of Silent Witness this year. Her earlier work includes long-running roles in Coronation Street and Mayday.

Swansea-based actress, Caroline Berry
(Image: Caroline Berry)A “We’re closing on Saturday 30 May” banner inside the store in its final days. Image: Caroline Berry

Reflecting on the final day, she wrote that it was the end of an era, having shopped at the store through every decade of her life — “from my junior school dresses to flowers and food, bedding, homeware and clothing.”

Returning the next morning to find the branding already gone, she described the speed of it, saying the blacked-out store looked “like it was in mourning.”

She added that the sudden expanse of black drew attention to just how large the store was, and what a loss it represented for the city.

The closure was confirmed in February, when M&S said the decision followed prolonged underperformance. Around 92 people were employed at the store at that time.

On its final day, staff gathered for a farewell photograph, raising a toast to the store’s history.

Staff raise a toast on the final day of trading at M&S Swansea. Image: M&S Swansea / Facebook

In a message to customers, the M&S Swansea team thanked the city for its loyalty “over the years,” saying it had been “a privilege to serve you.”

The company pointed shoppers to its nearby stores that remain open — the Simply Food branches on Pontarddulais Road and in Mumbles, and the larger Parc Trostre store in Llanelli, which offers food, clothing and home collections.

For many in the city, the loss runs deeper than convenience. Former employees, some with decades of service behind them, shared memories of careers that began with Saturday jobs and stretched across 40 years or more.

Others spoke of the practical blow: shoppers who cannot drive and have no quick bus route to Trostre, and regulars who will miss the café as much as the shop floor.

The mood echoed a wider unease about the city centre, coming after the loss of other long-standing names and with the future of several large units still unresolved.

A spokesman for Swansea Council said it was disappointed by the decision but was continuing to work with M&S to find a new site in the city.

The former Debenhams unit had been suggested as a possible new home, but the council leader, Rob Stewart, has said M&S rejected the idea.

M&S has said it remains committed to serving Swansea customers through its nearby stores and online, and is working with the council and other partners to explore a future presence in the city.

For now, the blacked-out windows on Oxford Street stand as a stark marker of a name that had been part of Swansea life since the 1950s.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Swansea flagship M&S store confirms May 30 closure date as council leader hints at Debenhams news
How the final closing date was confirmed and what the council said about a new site.

M&S fightback: MP Torsten Bell demands staff support and new store for Swansea after closure bombshell
The political response and calls for support for affected staff.

M&S to close 69-year-old Swansea store in huge shock to council
The original announcement that stunned the city and the council.

#Actress #CarolineBerry #MS #MarksAndSpencer #OxfordStreet #retail #storeClosure #Swansea #SwanseaCityCentre

Hard times are forcing this store, a Corner Brook staple, to close seasonally
For as long as owner Michelle Payne can remember, Fox’s General Store in Corner Brook has been a place for the community to gather. But hard economic times have forced her to reduce the beloved business’s hours.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/foxs-general-store-seasonal-9.7198836?cmp=rss

RETAIL: Shoe Zone is closing stores across the UK — here’s what it means for shops in Llanelli, Neath, Swansea, Carmarthen and Port Talbot

The bad news

Shoe Zone is in trouble. The chain has just reported a £5.3 million loss — nearly double what it lost this time last year. It closed 14 stores in the past six months alone and is now shutting half its warehouse.

The company blames the war in Iran for pushing up shipping costs, and two government budgets for making shoppers too nervous to spend. Even its online sales — usually its bright spot — fell 6% in the latest figures. It had hoped to make a £1 million profit this year. It now thinks it’ll lose between £1 million and £2 million.

Why some stores are more at risk than others

Shoe Zone has been quietly carrying out a plan for years. The company is shutting its smaller, traditional high street shops and replacing them with bigger stores in retail parks that sell branded shoes like Skechers alongside its own cheap range.

By last September, it had already converted 201 of its stores to the bigger format. Only 68 of the old-style smaller shops remained — down from 112 the year before. The company wants to finish the job by the end of 2027.

The pattern is clear from what’s already happened across south-west Wales. In 2019, Shoe Zone opened a big new store at Cross Hands Retail Park — and six months later, the Ammanford town centre branch on Quay Street closed for good.

In 2023, it relocated from its smaller traditional Union Street store in Swansea city centre to the much larger former Next unit on Oxford Street. Six months later, the Morriston branch closed permanently.

Maesteg lost its Shoe Zone in 2020 and Haverfordwest followed in 2021 — both were traditional town centre shops and neither appears on the company’s store locator any more.

Shoe Zone store in Aberafan Shopping Centre, Port Talbot

The stores in south-west Wales — starting with the safest

Safe: Cross Hands Retail Park
Opened in 2019 as Shoe Zone’s first out-of-town store in Wales, Cross Hands is the chain’s regional anchor for west Wales — open until 7pm on weekdays and stocking a wide range of branded footwear. This is precisely the model the company is investing in. It’s about as safe as it gets.

Safe: Swansea, Oxford Street
When Shoe Zone moved from its smaller Union Street store into the old Next unit on Oxford Street in 2023, it was a statement of intent. Large, modern and well-stocked, this is one of the company’s own concept stores — the kind of unit it wants more of, not fewer.

Reasonably safe: Port Talbot, Aberafan Centre
Inside the Aberafan Shopping Centre, this is a covered unit which is generally more stable than a standalone high street branch. Port Talbot faces its own economic headwinds following the steel industry’s decline, but the shopping centre location provides some protection.

Reasonably safe: Carmarthen, Merlin’s Walk
Opened in October 2024, the Carmarthen store is one of the newest Shoe Zone branches in Wales. It sits along Merlin’s Walk — an open pedestrianised street linking the town centre with Friars Park car park — rather than in a covered shopping centre. A store this new is unlikely to close soon, but its open high street setting means it faces the same footfall pressures as any other town centre shop.

Worth watching: Neath, Green Street
Neath’s store was refurbished and reopened in September 2023 as a modernised unit with a bigger range of brands. The recent investment suggests Shoe Zone sees a future here — but it’s still a traditional town centre store on an open high street, and those are exactly the ones the company has been closing elsewhere.

Most at risk: Llanelli, Stepney Street
Llanelli’s Shoe Zone is a long-established traditional high street shop — exactly the type the company has been systematically shutting. No closure has been announced. But with Cross Hands Retail Park already drawing shoppers from across west Wales, Llanelli faces the same question Ammanford did in 2019: does a traditional town centre branch still make sense when there’s a bigger, better-stocked store just up the road? Of all the south-west Wales stores, this one fits the at-risk profile most closely.

Shoe Zone store on Neath’s Green Street
(Image: Google Maps)

What happens next

Shoe Zone is fighting on multiple fronts — rising costs, falling sales, a shrinking store network and mounting losses. The company says it is still investing in its future, including launching a TikTok shop to drive online sales. But the high street has already claimed Wilko, Debenhams and countless others that once seemed like fixtures, and with losses mounting and the 2027 transformation deadline approaching, the clock is ticking for its remaining traditional stores.

South-west Wales has already seen this story play out before. TGJones — the chain that took over from WHSmith — is facing its own crisis, with seven local branches at risk and a High Court hearing on its future expected in late June.

More on the high street in south-west Wales

TGJones: Bailiff threat and tax debts cast fresh doubt over south-west Wales stores
Seven local TGJones branches are at risk as the chain battles mounting debts and a High Court hearing looms.

Seven south-west Wales TGJones stores at risk as chain announces 150 closures
The full list of at-risk branches across the region.

Four local restaurants face closure as Whitbread axes up to 3,800 jobs
Another national chain making cuts that hit south-west Wales directly.

Swansea flagship M&S store confirms closure date
The high street story that sparked months of debate about Swansea city centre.

#AberafanShoppingCentre #Llanelli #PortTalbot #retail #ShoeZone #StepneyStreet #storeClosure

TGJONES: Post Office promises to update communities if any branches are forced to relocate amid TGJones store closures

Post Office customers in south-west Wales who use services located inside their local TGJones have been reassured that they will continue to be able to do so – for now.

The statement comes after Swansea Bay News reported yesterday that up to 150 TGJones stores across the UK are facing closure under restructuring plans announced by the chain’s owner, Modella Capital.

Seven stores across south-west Wales are among those potentially affected, including the Quadrant Shopping Centre branch in Swansea and stores in Neath, Llanelli, Bridgend, Carmarthen, Tenby and Haverfordwest.

But many of those branches host an in-store Post Office – and readers immediately raised concerns about what would happen to those vital local services if the parent shops close.

Several readers contacted Swansea Bay News following the original report.

“They can’t possibly get rid of a post office. It serves as a bank for some people,” wrote one reader.

Others raised specific concerns about the Neath branch on Wind Street.

“Skewen has one post office, but we used to have three years ago,” said another reader. “Losing Neath post office would be unacceptable.”

“There’ll be no post office in Neath centre,” said another.

In response to these concerns, Swansea Bay News asked the Post Office press office to clarify the future of in-store branches if their TGJones host stores were to close.

A Post Office spokesperson said the network recognised the difficult conditions facing high street retailers, and confirmed it had no immediate plans to change services.

“We fully recognise the challenging trading conditions that TGJones and many other High Street retailers are facing at the moment,” the spokesperson said.

“We have a long-standing partnership and encourage customers to continue to access Post Office services and products from our branches located within TGJones stores.”

The Post Office said it would commit to keeping local communities informed of any future changes.

“Should there be any change to the store that hosts the Post Office, we will inform the local community as soon as we’re able to,” the spokesperson added.

The Post Office network operates more than 11,500 branches across the UK – many of them inside other businesses including newsagents, supermarkets and convenience stores.

The model has long been used to keep Post Office services accessible in towns and high streets where standalone branches would not be commercially viable.

But the model also creates a vulnerability – when the host business gets into difficulty, the Post Office service can be at risk too.

The Post Office’s statement will reassure customers that, for now, services will continue as normal at TGJones-hosted branches across south-west Wales.

But the position will become clearer once Modella Capital announces which specific TGJones stores will be closed under its restructuring plans – a decision that has not yet been made public.

The Post Office has confirmed the network has not been told which stores will close.

For now, customers in Swansea, Neath, Llanelli, Bridgend, Carmarthen, Tenby and Haverfordwest can continue to use their local in-store Post Office as normal.

Modella Capital, which also owns Hobbycraft and previously owned the now-collapsed Claire’s chain, is expected to confirm the full list of TGJones store closures in the coming weeks.

#ModellaCapital #PostOffice #retail #storeClosure #TGJones #WHSmith

TGJONES: Seven south-west Wales stores at risk as chain announces 150 closures

Seven TGJones stores across south-west Wales are facing the chop.

Up to 150 stores nationwide are set to close under a major restructuring plan announced by the chain’s owner – with hundreds of jobs at risk.

The stores affected by the decision include some of the most familiar names on south-west Wales high streets:

• The Quadrant Shopping Centre, Swansea
• Wind Street, Neath
• Parc Trostre Retail Park, Llanelli
• The Rhiw, Bridgend
• Guildhall Square, Carmarthen
• High Street, Tenby
• Riverside Quay, Haverfordwest

It has not yet been confirmed which individual stores will close.

But the announcement leaves staff at all seven branches facing a nervous wait.

The chain – formerly WHSmith – operates 480 high street stores nationally, with 26 of them in Wales.

Private equity owner Modella Capital said the restructuring was an “essential part” of the company’s turnaround plan.

The firm bought the WHSmith high street business in March 2025 – a £40 million deal that did not include the WHSmith brand itself.

Stores were quickly rebranded under the new TGJones name – a name with no prior public recognition.

The TGJones store inside the Quadrant Shopping Centre — formerly trading as WHSmith. The chain was rebranded by new owner Modella Capital after a £40 million deal in March 2025. Picture: Swansea Bay News

Modella Capital is now blaming that “forced” rebrand for damaging consumer awareness.

A spokesperson said the decision to close stores had not been taken lightly.

“While we continue to believe in the strength of the core business, TGJones has experienced highly challenging trading conditions over the past year, along with many other brick-and-mortar retailers,” they said.

The company also blamed rising operating costs “as a direct result of government policy” and recent “geopolitical events.”

“The restructuring plan is designed to protect the substantial core of the store estate and create a stronger, more sustainable business that can continue to serve customers for years to come,” the spokesperson added.

Modella Capital said no final decisions had yet been made about the impact on staff, and the company was aiming to preserve “as many jobs as possible.”

“We want to be clear, however, that the plan may result in the closure of some stores and the loss of some roles,” the spokesperson said.

The TGJones restructure comes hot on the heels of another high-profile Modella Capital collapse.

The private equity firm shut all 154 UK and Ireland Claire’s stores last month – putting around 1,300 staff out of work.

Modella Capital placed Claire’s into administration after what it called an “alarmingly” low Christmas trading period.

It has now committed more than £35 million for the TGJones restructuring effort.

For Swansea shoppers, the timing is grim.

The Quadrant store sits within a shopping centre already undergoing significant change. The Quadrant’s former Debenhams anchor unit was bought by Swansea Council after the chain’s collapse, stripped out, and recently sold to the centre’s new owners Centurion Group, with three major new tenants expected to be confirmed.

And Swansea’s flagship Marks & Spencer store on Oxford Street is due to close on 30 May – meaning the city centre will lose yet another major retailer in the same month TGJones announces its restructuring.

The Carmarthen store on Guildhall Square is similarly prominent in the town’s main retail area, while the Neath, Llanelli, Bridgend, Tenby and Haverfordwest branches all anchor parts of their respective high streets.

The full list of which TGJones stores will close is expected to be confirmed in the coming weeks.

#administration #Bridgend #Carmarthen #Haverfordwest #Llanelli #ModellaCapital #Neath #retail #storeClosure #Swansea #Tenby #TGJones #WHSmith

The industry expects that if the general strike is launched, the comprehensive losses faced by Samsung Electronics could be as high as 5 trillion ...#TodaysHotspotGuide #ZARA #H&M #RalphLauren #GeneralAdministrationofCustoms #Tencent #stockpricedrop #AIinvestment #sharebuybacks #EU #ElonMusk #X #fine #ChinaMobile #Monternet #spotgoldprice #JiaGuolong #newbrand #braisednoodles #XibeiCateringGroup #TianbianCasseroleBraisedNoodles #798ArtDistrict #new-generationXiaomiSU7 #price #McDonalds #eggtartsales #Hellobike #rearwheellocked #BlackRock #CEO #USnewgraduates #unemploymentrate #HSBC #jobcuts #lab-growndiamonds #pricedrop #BlueTickVerification #canthaxanthin #eggs #Hema #KATE #storeclosure #refund #Samsung #strike #LeeJae-yong #CoconutPalmGroup #robots #coconutpeeling #STQuanwei #CSRC #investigation #USstockindexes #largetechnologystocks #Seedance20 #shortdramaAgent #SpaceAIChips #synaptictransistor #Feishu #Lobster #Agent #MiMo-V2-Pro #MiMo-V2-Omni #MiMo-V2-TTS #DeskClaw #Windows #Alibaba #financialreport #ChinaUnicomHongKong #netprofit #LiNing #revenue #XinquanCo #Ltd #dividend #iOS264 #iPhone17 #typingaccuracy
8 o'clock Latest News: Jia Guolong Launches "Tianbian Casserole Braised Noodles", Xiaomi SU7 New Generation Starts at 219,900 Yuan with 4,000 Yuan Price Hike, McDonald's Responds to Egg Tart Sale

M&S FIGHTBACK: MP Torsten Bell demands staff support and new store for Swansea after closure bombshell

The high-stakes meeting comes after the bombshell announcement that M&S will close its 69-year-old city centre store as part of a national strategy, a move that sparked widespread dismay among shoppers and politicians alike, as Swansea Bay News previously reported in M&S to close 69-year-old Swansea store in huge shock to council and the subsequent political row over job losses.

Mr Bell wasted no time in confronting regional and national M&S figures, making it clear that the closure of such a long-standing fixture in Swansea was “deeply disappointing.”

“This is a company that has been a major part of life in Swansea for decades,” Mr Bell stated, reflecting the sentiment of hundreds of residents who have already signed a grassroots petition against the closure.

The MP focused on two critical issues during the talks, which took place today.

His immediate priority was to ensure M&S does “everything they can to support the 92 local staff who may be affected,” including those who wish to transfer into other roles within the company.

Crucially, Mr Bell also “strongly urged” the retail giant to work hand-in-hand with Swansea Council to identify a suitable new site, ensuring M&S maintains a vital presence in the heart of the city.

“I am glad to say they are open to” finding a new site, Mr Bell confirmed, offering a glimmer of hope for the future of M&S in Swansea.

The closure has ignited a fierce debate about the future of Swansea city centre, with politicians demanding action and a row erupting over council “vanity projects,” as covered by Swansea Bay News in Politicians demand action as M&S closure sparks row over council ‘vanity projects’.

Mr Bell used the opportunity to “double down on our efforts to regenerate the city centre,” highlighting the progress already made with the opening of Y Storfa, the regeneration of the Palace Theatre, and the success of the Arena.

He also noted that work to renew Castle Gardens is underway, painting a picture of a city centre in transition.

A “personal priority” for the MP is securing the funds to ensure the Civic Centre has a new lease of life, as the city focuses on “building our city centre’s future, as well as remembering its past.”

The M&S closure is part of a wider national strategy by the company to shut a quarter of all its larger format stores across the UK, a development Swansea Bay News reported in Marks and Spencer announce they will close a quarter of all larger format stores.

#MS #MarksAndSpencer #regeneration #retail #storeClosure #Swansea #SwanseaCityCentre #SwanseaCouncil #TorstenBellMP

M&S ROW: Council leader accuses Senedd candidate of using job losses for ‘deplorable’ election campaign

Swansea Council Leader Rob Stewart has hit back at political opponents over the closure of the city’s M&S store, calling it “deplorable” that a Senedd candidate is using the potential loss of 90 local jobs for his election campaign.

The blistering attack comes in response to criticism from Liberal Democrat Senedd candidate Sam Bennett and Swansea Lib Dem leader Cllr Chris Holley, who yesterday questioned the council’s regeneration priorities in the wake of the M&S closure announcement.

In a statement, the Labour leader launched a full-throated defence of his administration’s record while attacking the previous Liberal Democrat-led council.

“It’s deplorable that Cllr Sam Bennett is using the closure of the store with the potential loss of 90 local jobs to try and further his Senedd election campaign,” Cllr Stewart said.

The attack is politically charged, as both men are candidates in the new Gŵyr Abertawe Senedd constituency for the 2026 election. Cllr Stewart is ranked second on the Welsh Labour list, while Cllr Bennett is the lead candidate for the Welsh Liberal Democrats.

He also criticised his Lib Dem counterpart, stating, “It’s also disappointing to see Cllr Holley doesn’t have confidence in Swansea, or its traders and businesses.”

Cllr Stewart claimed his opponents “have not openly supported any of the developments in Swansea delivered over the last 11 years” and are “critics of the £1.3bn city deal.”

He also revealed that M&S has not given up on the city, stating, “M&S are actively looking for a different location in Swansea and have acknowledged the positive impact the regeneration is having.”

He then turned his fire on the record of the previous Liberal Democrat administration, which was led by Cllr Holley for much of its tenure, and controlled Swansea Council from 2004-2012.

“The Lib Dems introduced the disastrous bendy bus, continually dug up the Kingsway and introduced the mad road system, and absolutely failed to invest and support local businesses to grow,” he said.

“They have no ambition for Swansea.”

#CllrChrisHolley #CllrRobStewart #MarksAndSpencer #OxfordStreet #retail #SamBennett #SeneddElection #storeClosure #WelshLabour #WelshLiberalDemocrats

NSLC closing downtown Halifax store following surge in thefts
The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation is closing its Scotia Square store in downtown Halifax, N.S., citing safety and security concerns, including a significant increase in the number of thefts.
#crime #security #storeclosure #downtownHalifax
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/nova-scotia-liquor-corporation-thefts-retail-crime-scotia-square-nslc-9.7105087?cmp=rss

Politicians demand action as M&S closure sparks row over council “vanity projects”

Liberal Democrats have accused Swansea Council‘s Labour leadership of making “ridiculous” assurances about the impact of multimillion-pound regeneration schemes, pointing to recent claims that the new library would drive footfall to M&S.

Meanwhile, Plaid Cymru’s Sioned Williams MS has written to the Welsh Government demanding support for the 92 staff facing redundancy, describing the closure as a “sickeningly familiar story” of high streets losing historic stores.

The political fallout comes just days after M&S confirmed it will shut its Oxford Street store later this year, ending nearly a century of trading in the city centre.

Welsh Liberal Democrat lead Senedd candidate Cllr Sam Bennett said: “Time and time again the Labour Council Leader has assured us that the massive city centre projects would be the saving of the high street, and this announcement raises big questions.

“At the most recent Council meeting the Leader went as far to say how people were celebrating that the move of the library meant they could now go to M&S, this now sounds ridiculous.”

Cllr Chris Holley, Leader of the Opposition on Swansea Council and Welsh Lib Dem Group Leader, went further, claiming the council had privately assured them M&S would remain once the Yr Storfa development opened.

“We have continually asked and been told that Labour’s vanity projects would be the saving of our high street, and even been told in a meeting M&S would stay once Yr Storfa had opened,” he said.

“This is deeply embarrassing for Labour, and is a tragedy for the city centre workers and shoppers as the Swansea high street takes another blow.”

Y Storfa’s striking green wall and glass frontage at the former BHS store next door to Swansea’s Marks & Spencer which is due to close in 2026
(Image: Swansea Council)

The Liberal Democrats say they have long called for cheaper and easier parking to encourage city centre use, alongside reforms to business rates and VAT cuts to support high street retailers.

Torsten Bell, Labour MP for Swansea West, struck a more conciliatory tone, expressing “deep disappointment” at the closure and focusing on the impact on staff and customers.

“This decision will be a blow to the many loyal customers who regularly use the store, and for the dedicated employees, some who have worked for M&S over many years,” Mr Bell said.

“They need to be shown the dignity and respect they deserve, while it’s vital they are treated fairly during this difficult time. I have already contacted Senior M&S Managers, with a meeting arranged for next Friday to discuss this further.”

Mr Bell noted the closure comes “at a time when the City Centre has seen huge regeneration at key sites and more top retailers showing confidence in Swansea.”

Marks and Spencer on Oxford Street in Swansea city centre. The store, which has been open since 1957, is set to close in late 2026 with 92 jobs at risk.

Sioned Williams MS, Plaid Cymru Member of the Senedd for South Wales West, drew parallels with M&S’s departure from Neath in May 2024, saying the closures represent more than just job losses.

“As with Marks and Spencer’s departure from Neath in May 2024, this is more than losing a job or losing a shop, it’s losing a piece of local history,” she said.

“The Oxford Street store is an important part of many people’s lives, not least for the 92 who work there currently. During its 100 year presence in Swansea, there will have been people who have given their working lives to this store and loyal customers who have helped build this company’s multimillion pound profits.”

Ms Williams said she had written to the Welsh Government asking what support will be offered to staff, and will be writing to M&S to urge them to retain a full-line store in the area.

“I’m glad to see the company not ruling out maintaining a presence in Swansea, but that location should be in the city centre, and not out of town,” she added.

The closure announcement has raised questions about the effectiveness of Swansea Council’s regeneration strategy, which has seen millions of pounds invested in projects including the Copr Bay arena, the new library and museum complex, and the ongoing Yr Storfa development.

M&S has indicated it is considering alternative locations in the Swansea area, but has not confirmed whether any replacement store would be in the city centre or at an out-of-town retail park.

The Oxford Street store, which has traded for nearly 100 years, is expected to close later in 2026, with staff consultations now underway.

#Business #CllrChrisHolley #MS #MarksAndSpencer #OxfordStreet #PlaidCymru #retail #SamBennett #SionedWilliamsMS #storeClosure #Swansea #TorstenBellMP #WelshLabour #WelshLiberalDemocrats