EE is the latest high street retailer to announce store closures, with the 4G network confirming it is to close 78 of its near 700 UK high street shops .
Just three months after the network giant merged its Orange and T-Mobile stores to a single, EE rebranded entity, the UK’s only 4G provider has said that its decision has been based on customer numbers, store leases and proximity of other EE stores, not financial struggles.
Amid job loss fears following recent administrator enforced cuts at Jessops, HMC and Blockbuster, the new network has promised not to make any redundancies, choosing instead to relocate employees to nearby stores.
Considering that EE used to be two separate networks with a store for each, the closures are probably an administrative move that reduces high street overcrowding.
Speaking to the Financial Times, an EE spokesperson said: “where we have stores in very close proximity with each other – in some places they are just a door away – we have decided to consolidate. This makes commercial sense and will also help us manage the high levels of demand in our stores and improve the customer experience.”
It’s not all bad news for EE as it is actually opening four more stores in brand new locations, so it seems that these store closures are not a sign that the network is struggling.
Following the recent announcements of high-street retailer HMV and film and game retail chain Blockbuster filing for administration this week, the news of EE’s store closures is another blow for the struggling British high street, which is suffering from fierce internet competition.
What future do you think the British high street faces? Did you feel there were too many EE stores on the high street? Let us know via our Facebook and Twitter pages or via the comment boxes below.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
