Popular clothing chain to close one of its 150 UK stores in days
Matalan is a British homewares and fashion value retailer founded in 1985 by John Hargreaves.
The chain, which has become an iconic British brand, operates largely in retail parks rather than on the high street.
However, it has failed to sustain business in one part of the UK as the out-of-town store prepares to close.
Situated along Stadium Way near Greyhound Retail Park, the Matalan store in Chester will close to all customers on January 4, 2025. A notice has been placed outside the building to confirm.
A spokesperson said: “Our Chester store will close on January 4 2025 as the landlord has opted to redevelop the site.”
The Matalan spokesperson continued, “Our priority is to support our colleagues. We are working closely with all those affected and, where possible, offering them alternative positions.”
Many local shoppers took to social media to share their devastation, with one writing that it’s “such a shame” as they had shopped there “for years”.
Another chimed: “I loved it, lt is so near for me as l am not able to travel to town and it had everything l needed especially if l needed a rig out quickly,sorry to see it go.”
The nearest Matalan for customers is 4.8 miles away in Cheshire Oaks, followed by Bromborough, which is 9.9 miles away.
However, some locals said the closure was inevitable given the store’s unusual location.
A Facebook user commented: “Didn’t think it would stay open for long. It’s awful for the staff. I think if it relocated to nearer to the main greyhound park, it would have done much better.”
Another agreed: “That’s very sad but it was a bit out of the way not close to other shops. Let’s hope they can open again and find another unit on the Greyhound Park.”
It’s not all bad news, however, as the retailer has launched a huge 50 percent off sale for the festive period. Local shoppers claimed that many more items in-store are being sold at a reduced price.
There’s still just over one week left for shoppers to visit the store before it shuts, though it will operate different opening hours for Christmas.
According to the Facebook page for the Stadium Way store in Chester, the shop will open at the following times this week:
- Monday, December 23 – 9am to 7pm
- Tuesday, December 24 (Christmas Eve) – 8am to 4pm
- Wednesday, December 25 (Christmas Day) – Closed
- Thursday, December 26 (Boxing Day) – 9am to 5pm
- Friday, December 27 – 9am to 7pm
- Saturday, December 28 – 9am to 6pm
- Sunday, December 29 – 11am to 5pm
Shoppers who need to make returns can do so in-store until January 4. After that, they can return to one of the nearby stores or via post if it is an online order.
Matalan has closed a number of stores already this year, including a site in Salisbury and its clearance store in Church Gate, Leicester, in January.
A site in Leeds also closed for good in February this year, along with the Leytonstone store, which closed for the final time last winter after trading for over two decades.
Shoppers in Renfrew were left devastated last September when it announced the closure of its Blythswood Retail Park store.
