ALDI announced the closure of one of its 1,000 supermarkets today, despite shoppers’ pleas for it to stay in business.
The bargain store in Wales will not reopen after the shutters go down at 10pm tonight.
2
Shoppers in the Llanelli area spoke out about their frustration with the decision.
The closure of the Swanfield Place branch was branded “a hell of a blow” to residents in the area.
Many noted that the nearest Aldi site was around 1.5 miles away, which would be too difficult to reach without a car.
“Another great shop leaving our town, Aldi is closing their shop in Llanelli in April,” one wrote on Facebook.
A second added: “It’s such a shame that Llanelli council won’t try to keep this shop in town. It now means that if we want to go to Aldi in the future it means a trek to Trostre.”
“I love it there and I agree it’s always busy! I don’t like the other Aldi it’s too big and the car park is awful!” echoed a third.
“If you need a taxi it costs £6 down and £6 back,” moaned another.
Aldi recently announced plans to increase their 1,000 UK stores to 1,500.
In June last year, the supermarket said it wanted to open new branches in London, Manchester, Liverpool, and Surrey.
Each new 20,000 sq ft shop will have around 100 car parking spaces and will be near a main road with good visibility and access.
Aldi bosses are also eying up potential store spots inside the M25 for smaller outlets of 5,000 sq ft.
Speaking on the Llanelli closure, Councillor Sarah Evans told InYourArea: “This is a hell of a blow to those who do not have a car in my ward who face a far longer journey to travel to do their weekly shop.
“In particular, it will hit the elderly and the most vulnerable the hardest.
“Llanelli welcomed Aldi with open arms as it brought cheaper prices and competition to the other major supermarket chains.”
Labour councillor Shaun Greaney also voiced his frustrations, pointing out that many in the community could not afford to lose the store.
“With rising costs, this shop was a lifeline for those barely scraping by. I don’t know how people are going to manage now,” he said.
On the closure, an Aldi Spokesperson told The Sun: “Our Swanfield Place Store will close in Spring 2025.
“Our valued customers will still be able to shop and save close to home at our Trostre Road Store.”
However, many customers are less than satisfied with this alternative.
“It feels like a betrayal of those loyal customers who spent their money at the store for years,” said Cllr Andrew Bragoli.
“I think it is a matter of record that when they were looking to open a store near Trostre Retail Park, the company promised to keep the store here in Swanfield Place.”
The closure has sparked a wider conversation about the fate of high street stores, particularly in smaller towns.
Local retailers are already struggling due to increased competition from online shopping and rising operating costs.
The closure of Aldi’s Llanelli store comes at a time when other retailers, like M&S and Co-op, are also shutting locations due to changing market conditions and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.
The pressures of rising inflation, energy costs, and increased competition from discount retailers are causing many to rethink their presence in smaller towns and communities.
With no sign of a replacement, residents will have to look elsewhere for their groceries, while the future of the store remains uncertain.
2
Why are retailers closing shops?
EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre’s decline.
The Sun’s business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.
In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.
Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs from April 2025, will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40.
In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.
The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.
Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Carpetright, Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Paperchase, Ted Baker, The Body Shop, Topshop and Wilko to name a few.
What’s increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.