A popular outdoor apparel store is set to close its doors permanently, as Mountain Warehouse announces its retreat from Newport.
Some speculation has surrounded the High Street store – which closed temporarily in line with Government coronavirus lockdown rules – due to a ‘to let’ sign being erected on the building, with a listing appearing on property site Rightmove.
It comes as the adventure clothing giant revealed last year that almost 2,000 jobs were at risk, with founder Mark Neale admitting that the chain had experienced a ‘catastrophic’ fall in sales during the first lockdown.
The online listing for the 2,865 square foot store at 117 High Street reveals it has been advertised for let at the cost of £4,792 per calendar month. No date has currently been set for the store’s permanent closure, but the retail unit is set to be available for a new tenant on 28th September.
Island Echo approached retailer Mountain Warehouse – which has had a presence in Newport for several years – to clarify the future of its store.
A Mountain Warehouse spokesperson said:
“Sadly the Newport Isle of Wight store is set to close and won’t reopen.”
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There is no word yet on the number of job losses expected by the closure, or if the closure is directly related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Mountain Warehouse is the latest addition to the ever-growing list of national chains that have pulled out from Newport, with Topman, Topshop and Co-Op just some of the stores rolling down their shutters so far this year.
UPDATE @ 09.51 (1/4/21) – Despite yesterday’s confirmation from the national chain Mountain Warehouse regarding the ‘permanent closure’ of its Newport High Street store, the company has issued an updated statement regarding its future on the Isle of Wight.
Yesterday, Island Echo was told by the chain that its Newport store would permanently close. Today (Thursday), the outdoor clothing retailer has revealed that despite its store closing, it won’t be the end of its presence in the town.
A Mountain Warehouse spokesperson told Island Echo:
“The Isle of Wight is a key location for us, and we are proud to have a presence on the Island. We will be re-opening both of our stores there (Ryde and Newport), but it’s likely we’ll be relocating to a much bigger unit in the Newport area later in the year”.
There has been no exact date given for the opening of the new Newport store. Ryde’s store will be unaffected by the changes.
How can a business operate with nearly £5000 rent a month before the door’s
even open. So we are talking with rates, wages, utilities etc in excess of £10000
per month before you have sold anything. How could that ever be viable in a town
where over half the island would never go to shop?
Sad but sign of the times. I hope the staff can find new jobs. Maybe take the opportunity to retrain. There is a massive demand for IT staff. Job for life and very good money.
It’s going to be strange in Newport when we eventually come out of lockdown, as a lot of the shops will be remaining closed. Rent, business rates and parking charges need a serious look at.
Greedy landlords with excessive rents are part of the problem – surely it would be better to have some rent monies at a reasonable rate than having a building empty for years – (example where HMV used to be).
Councils perhaps need to get a grip of landlords and tell them either reduce rents to affordable level or sell. A local estate agent told me that the majority of shops in Newport are either owned by insurance or investment companies. Something wrong here and not helpful for the future if high streets.
Absolutely correct, Benny. The pure greed exhibited by corporates and development and investment companies is just disgusting. Further, these parasitic landlords often operate their businesses from places like Portugal so they avoid the dues and taxes that their decent tenants are saddled with. What an evil system!
Boris and his chums have made it easier for commercial property to get change of use to residential (and other) development, so these investment companies won’t be losing any sleep sitting on nice brownfield assets. Hence no change in rents.
yep – landlord and council have shot theirselves in the foot – another retailer saying – i am not paying out that ridiculous amount in rent and rates before getting any money for myself, after all, i am the one doing the work.
The one place I would like to see close is Dead Wood City, otherwise known as the Isle of Wight Council. Total waste of money.
Newport is becoming a ghost town, a sign of the times but sad all the same. Hope staff can/have found other employment.
Ryde appears to be relatively vibrant. Ryde has free parking. Any connection?
It would be interesting to have a comparison with out of town retail rates and in town per square metre?