God. Another one bites the dust.
Just got word that Next is shutting down its outlet store at Darlington Retail Park in May, and I'm honestly not surprised. Been in there a few times myself last summer, and the place had that unmistakable "we're not really trying anymore" vibe that seems to be the death knell for retail these days.
The jumble sale nobody asked for
The outlet's only been there since 2021, which is barely enough time to establish itself. My cousin Ellie (who practically lives in that retail park) texted me this morning with "guess who's closing now?" Apparently, the place has become something of a chaotic mess. One shopper described it as "quite like a jumble sale unfortunately" which... yeah. Spot on.
I mean, I get it. These outlet stores are supposed to be a bit all over the place - that's part of teh bargain hunting experience. But there's a difference between "treasure hunt" and "where did they even find these clothes and why are they all inside out?"
Why should anyone care?
Some locals are genuinely upset. One shopper lamented on social media: "Aw noooo I love getting the girls clothes from here." Another simply said: "Such a shame."
But others weren't exactly sobbing into their shopping bags. "Sometimes I could go in and see loads, other times it was rubbish, very hit and miss," said one brutally honest customer.
Listen. I spent £46 there in January on what I thought was a bargain winter coat, only to have three buttons fall off within a week. Maybe I shouldn't be too heartbroken.
The retail domino effect
This closure is just the latest in what feels like a never-ending funeral procession for British retail. Darlington has already lost Home Bargains, Studio Eleven, and some cheese and wine place I never even knew existed (and now I'm annoyed I missed it).
Back in 2018, this retail park was actually thriving. My sister worked at the Next in Cornmill centre (which thankfully remains open), and they used to view the outlet as the annoying little brother stealing their customers with cheaper prices.
The bigger, uglier picture
Next had already warned us this might happen. They lost a massive legal battle over equal pay last year, and in January they were moaning about having to possibly raise prices because of the chancellor's National Insurance hike - which apparently will cost them something like £67million.
Poor Next. (Not really.)
The high street's having a proper nightmare in 2025. WHSmith is basically committing retail suicide by selling off all its high street branches. New Look's shutting nearly 100 stores. Select Fashion and even charity shops like Scope are closing left and right.
What's really killing these places?
It's like watching dominoes fall in slow motion. First it was inflation, then online shopping stealing everyone's lunch, and now we're all too broke from the cost of living crisis to buy anything anyway.
I visited teh retail park yesterday to see if there were any "everything must go" bargains yet, but nothing's been announced officially. An employee confirmed the May closure date but looked about as enthusiastic as someone waiting for a root canal.
Even Poundland's owner Pepco is looking to sell up, which feels like the final nail in the coffin for budget retail. When the place where everything costs a pound can't make it work... we're in trouble.
And yet, somehow I bet the Greggs next door is still doing a roaring trade. Some things never change.
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Did you miss our previous article...
https://hellofaread.com/money/i-just-found-two-weird-mcvities-flavors-hiding-in-bm-and-im-kinda-obsessed
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