Some B&M stores in England are set to close in May - including one in the North East.
The discount chain has announced that its branch on Saddler Street, in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, will close on May 5. The retailer says on its website: "Unfortunately your B&M Bishop Auckland store at 4 Saddler Street will CLOSE on Friday 5th May 2023. We'd like to apologise for any inconvenience caused as a result of this closure."
Customers are then advised to visit the next nearest B&M store, which is two miles away in Shildon. Elsewhere, B&M will close its Widnes store in Cheshire on May 17 before relocating it to a new site on May 24.
Finally, its store in the Burnden Retail Park store in Bolton will close for good on May 24. It comes on top of five stores B&M has already shut for good this year, reports The Mirror.
Read More: May bank holiday opening hours for Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, Aldi, B&Q, Wickes and other stores
The list includes:
- CLOSED Castlegate Shopping Centre, Stockton - Feb 25
- CLOSED Maesglas Retail Park, Newport, Wales - March 4
- CLOSED Boucher Road, Belfast - March 26
- CLOSED Queens Drive Retail Park, Kilmarnock - March 26
- CLOSED Broadwalk Shopping Centre, Bristol - March 29
-
Bishop Auckland, County Durham - May 5
- Widnes, Cheshire - May 17
- Burden Retail Park, Bolton - May 24
However, the reasons for most of these closures are linked to new store openings and other external factors. For example, the Stockton store in the Castlegate Shopping Centre has been relocated to a bigger unit.
The store in Queens Drive Retail Park in Kilmarnock, Scotland, was also moved over to a new site at Glencairn Retail Park. Finally, the store in Broadwalk Shopping Centre in Bristol closed because there are plans to demolish the shopping centre.
In better news for shoppers, B&M also told The Mirror it is planning on opening or relaunching more stores over the next few months. The six stores opening or expanding over the next few weeks are:
- Leven - April 29 (re-launch)
- Armagh - May 5 (re-launch)
- Widnes - May 24
- Fforestfach - May 26
- Jarrow - May 27 (re-launch)
- Fazakerley - May 31
B&M has over 650 stores in the UK. You can use its online store finder tool to locate your nearest branch. The latest store openings and closures come after B&M scrapped the home delivery option on its main website in a blow for shoppers ordering bulky items online.
The budget retailer started trialling home delivery in June 2022 on products that were hard for customers to transport home from stores. Eventually, some 1,000 products across toys, electricals, garden furniture and bedding were made available to order.
But trade publication Retail Week reports that B&M pulled the plug on its delivery trial in February this year. It means anyone looking to order large home products, such as a sofa or wardrobe, will have to find a way to get it home themselves.
A separate site called B&M Garden Buildings does have delivery options available - but only on garden items including sheds, greenhouses, decking and furniture.
Read Next:
Lidl announces where in North East it wants to open new stores - see if one is near you
Warning over Tesco Clubcard rule that means some people pay more
Tesco making major changes to online delivery service from next week
Morrisons begins rationing affecting all shoppers amid fears of shortages
Co-op takes on Sainsbury's and Tesco as it introduces special prices for loyalty members
