Latest news with #ClaphamJunction
Daily Mail
14-06-2025
- Daily Mail
They'll be saddle sore in the morning! Naked cyclists take to London's streets to protest against car culture (but police asked them to stay clothed if they got near King Charles)
Thousands of cyclists ditched their clothes and hopped on their bikes to cycle across London. The annual World Naked Bike Ride is a 'peaceful protest' against car culture and oil dependency. Participants are encouraged to be as 'bare as you dare' in an effort to also celebrate body positivity. The traffic-stopping stunt began right after the Trooping of the Colour celebrations but the police asked for no nudity at Wellington Arch before 2pm. The naked cyclists were encouraged to wear shoes and adorn themselves in colourful body paint. It was the 21st event held in London and the sunny weather ensured a buzzing atmosphere. This years event had eight different starting points which merged together at Westminster Bridge. Riders were able to choose from leisurely routes to more challenging ones - depending on how daring they were. At the end of the protest cyclists had the opportunity to make their way to an after-party in Clapham Junction. It was a peaceful protest full of high spirits but there will likely be some sore bums in the morning.
Daily Mail
22-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Major high street chain closing three more stores within weeks in another blow to shoppers
Poundland has confirmed that three more of its stores will close in the next few weeks, in another major blow to shoppers. Branches in London, Kent and Liverpool will close down, while 825 of the discount chain's shops remain up for sale. The Clapham Junction store in London is set to close on May 2, just three years after it opened. A sign in the shop window urged shoppers to relocate to their nearby Wandsworth store. It read: ' We're closing May 2. Don't worry, we have another great store in the Southside Shopping Centre near Specsavers!' A few days later on May 6, the store in Belle Valle shopping centre in Liverpool is set to close. A spokesperson for Poundland told The Mirror the decision came after it was served notice on the lease. They added: 'We know how disappointing this will be to customers and colleagues. Whenever we have to close a store in these circumstances, we do all we can to look for other opportunities for colleagues and that work is now underway.' The third branch closing is at St George's Centre in Gravesend in Kent where the retailer has hung up multiple 'closing down sale' signs throughout the shop windows. Kent Online reported that huge queues of shoppers have gathered to enjoy half price deals at the branch. The closures come after Poundland's owners Pepco Group put the firm up for sale after warnings about its financial state. Last month, Pepco announced that 825 stores would be put up for sale as it shifts its attention to its more popular Pepco brand. The retailer has struggled in recent years and was hit by Rachel Reeves's October tax raid which increased national insurance contributions for employers alongside the national minimum wage. The company said the changes announced by the new Labour government would be likely to cost around £10million. Poundland has also become a huge target for shoplifters, announcing that last year a shocking £40million worth of stock was swiped from the shelves of the brand's stores across the UK. In January, the retailer announced it would invest in new anti-theft technology to try and combat the surge in opportunists attempting to steal from the discount stores. In recent years Poundland has found new competitors in supermarkets, as a widespread rollout of loyalty schemes has led to discounted prices for customers. In a move to try and compete with supermarkets, Poundland last year launched its first ever lunchtime meal deal, including a sandwich, snack and drink for £3. The meal deals are a staple of the supermarkets, but Poundland made the move to try and undercut its rivals for price, without the need for a loyalty card. However, the chain's reputation for value continues to falter. The company made a pledge to protect shoppers during the cost of living crisis but research by MailOnline in 2022 showed that some items had increased by up to 50 per cent in price since. Among some of the price hikes, six-packs of KP Skips and Pom-Bear crisps both increased by 48 per cent from £1.25 to £1.85, while a Discos multipack rose by 20 per cent from £1.25 to £1.50. Andy Bond, the executive chairman of Pepco, claimed that over the past two or three years, average prices have only increased by a 'single digit' and have 'not gone up more than 10 per cent cumulatively'. However, he did say 'some individual items that may have done across the basket'. It comes as Britain's high streets have been warned there is 'worse to come' this year after more than 13,000 shops closed their doors for good in 2024 – an increase of 28 per cent on the year before. And in a gloomy report that raises fresh doubts about Labour's handling of the economy, industry experts predicted that 17,350 shops will shut down in 2025. It is the highest figure since the Centre for Retail Research (CRR), which compiled the report, began collecting the data in 2015 and follows the closure of 13,479 stores last year. Retailers have also begged the government to reform the hated business rates system, a levy based on the rental value of a commercial property which means shops pay a premium compared with online giants such as Amazon. The sector is already struggling as the cost-of-living crisis forces shoppers to tighten their belts. Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: 'Whilst the results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse to come in 2025.' Poundland is not the only High Street favourite facing hard times. Last week more than a dozen Morrions stores closed their doors for the last time. Bosses at the retailer have blamed Labour's tax bomb budget, which saw it hike National Insurance contributions from employers and increase the minimum wage. Around 365 jobs are believed to be at risk as part of the move, which will also see 52 of its in-store cafes close permanently. The re-jig of the chains operations will also hit shops that remain open, as it shuts hot food and meat counters, as well as florists and pharmacies. The stores that closed are Morrisons Daily locations - these are smaller branches that are run as convenience stores as opposed to larger supermarkets. The supermarket previously said: 'Morrisons has made the difficult decision to close some Morrisons Daily stores, some of which contain Post Offices. 'We fully recognise the inconvenience this will cause for our customers and apologise for the short notification as these branches close between 9 April and 14 May.' Another high street brand, Regatta, also announced it would close another store last month. A 'closing down sale' recently appeared on the entrance of the Regatta outlet in Dundee's Overgate Centre - with the brand only taking over the space from Oasis in 2022. Regatta, which sells outdoor clothing and equipment, is shutting down a shop in Dundee, Scotland - just over two years after its grand opening in the city. The announcement is the latest blow to the UK high street and comes after a number of retailers, including Sports Direct, JD Sports, New Look, and WHSmith, also announced closures. In February last year, Regatta, which is one of the go-to brands for all things outdoors, also shut a store in Chatham, Kent. In January it was also rveleaed that WH Smith was in talks to sell its entire high street business in Britain after 233 years. WH Smith, which sells stationery, books, and is home to many UK post offices, has round 500 stores in Britain and employs 5,000 people across the country. It is currently set to close 17 of its branches over the coming months, following a further string of closures last year. In the past ten years, the business' high street sales have fallen from £684million to £452million. The travel arm of the firm - which consists of around 1,200 stores worldwide - generates 85 per cent of its profits. Meanwhile JD Sports announced last week it will close 50 stores next year.
