This is 'reinvention retail not armageddon' as chains axe stores in grim 2018
This year has seen numerous chains announce closures or go into administration
The perfect storm of rising costs, internet shopping and squeezed consumer spending has claimed retail victims in a grim 2018.
This year's list of retail brands either going under or shutting shops is growing longer every week with Marks and Spencer the latest high street giant with gloomy trading news.
In Wales the current town centre vacancy rate is 12.5% and the current raft of negative announcements point to this getting worse before it gets better.
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There are wide discrepancies in these figures from town to town, ranging from 25% of units empty in Rhyl to just over 5% in Llandudno.
New Look store on Rhyl High Street
There is some hope though with predictions the sector is "reinventing" rather facing a complete wipe-out.
There are also some retailers bucking the trend, with Shoe Zone and Mountain Warehouse among those enjoying a positive year.
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Sara Jones, Welsh Retail Consortium (WRC), said: "The retail industry is undergoing unprecedented transformation.
"Increasing operating costs, investment in digital and continued consumer demand for choice, value, convenience and quality shopping experiences mean that the retail industry of the future will look very different to today.
Marks & Spencer stopped trading from its menswear store on Mostyn Street in Llandudno on February 10, 2018. (Image: David Powell)
"The cumulative burden of business rates and high rent costs is adding significant pressure to the bottom line of both our largest and smallest high street brands.
"But retailers are adapting. Fundamentally changing their strategies and investing in technology and skills to provide more interactive shopping experiences.
"The high street of the future is going to look very different so this is about planning for reinvention retail not armageddon retail."
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Calum Bruce, Director of Investment at Ediston Properties Limited, which owns retails parks in Prestatyn, Rhyl and Wrexham, said: "There are three elements to the retail sector, the high street, shopping centres and out of town.
"While the entire sector is facing challenges the greatest issues have been on the high street and in shopping centres.
Parc Prestatyn
"Many of the closures are taking in these locations with some retailers reducing their presence in town centres and shifting operation to out of town.
"These fit more with the modern needs of shoppers, with them easy to access and generally with free parking.
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"It also offers retailers a very flexible space which is what they want.
"These are also well set for online shopping models like click and collect. We believe the penetration of online will slow down and eventually plateau.
"A lot of CVAs have seen rents being cut and it is believed 70% of units are 'over-rented' which means when renewals come up the rents will go down.
"We have been careful to look at sites that have sensible rents so we are not in this situation.
"Our sites in North Wales are trading well, we have signed extended leases and also in Rhyl we have signed up Iceland.
Clwyd Retail Park in Rhyl
"We built this unit speculatively as we believed the demand was there and this has been proved right."
Sara Jones added that extra support was now needed in Wales for the sector. She said the WRC were pleased the sector was on the Economic Action Plan unveiled by the Welsh Government.
She said: "We urgently need to see business rate reform back at the top of the Welsh Government's agenda, as this could make a real difference to ailing businesses across the nation at a time when they are facing such unprecedented change.
"A reformed and lower rates system would be good for business, good for the economy and most importantly give our local high streets the boost they so desperately need."
Retailers under pressure.
■ Marks & Spencer's saw profits plunge and has announced that 100 stores will close over the next five years.
■ Toys R Us: The toy chain went into administration on the last day of February after failing to find a third-party buyer. In February HMRC sought to recover £15 million in unpaid VAT and this finally tipped the company into administration. The stores in Broughton and Chester have closed.
Toys R Us at Broughton Shopping Park
■ Maplin: One of the UK's biggest electronics retailers collapsed into administration on the same day as Toys R Us after talks with buyers failed to secure a sale. The business faced the slump in the pound after the Brexit vote, weak consumer confidence and a withdrawal of credit insurance. The store in Llandudno closed last week.
■ House of Fraser: The department store has set out a radical store closure plan and swung to a staggering £43.9 million loss in 2017 as Brexit, terrorist attacks and increased online competition took its toll.
■ Mothercare: The ailing baby goods and maternity retailer has proposed to close 50 stores as part of a planned turnaround for the company - including a unit in Llandudno.
General view of a Mothercare store
It said losses were driven by the costs of 17 store closures last year, onerous leases and a head office restructure.
■ Carpetright: The embattled flooring firm is embarking on a store closure programme and has begun efforts to raise £60 million in emergency funding as it pushes through a restructuring after announcing it was expecting to book a full-year underlying pre-tax loss of between £7 million and £9 million.
■ New Look: The clothing chain announced earlier this year that it would close 60 UK stores and cut 1,000 jobs as part of a financial restructuring. The store in Rhyl is due to close.
■ Poundworld: The discount chain said it was planning to close about 100 stores, putting about 1,500 jobs at risk, as it struggled to absorb rising costs.
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