Farewell to Beales - 25 February 2020

Another retail failure in 2020 was that of department store Beales.

This branch, in Fareham Shopping Centre, had opened only in November 2019. Its closure was announced in mid-February 2020 when administrators decided the fate of the 11 surviving stores of the original 23. This store had previously been M&S (see the slightly out of date geotag) which itself closed progressively starting with the upper floor before closing completely.

M&S have branches at Whiteley and Hedge End and it is the harsh decisions of such firms which are further fuelling the drive away from town centres and the slow death of retail there. In these occasional documents I produce, I like to remind my followers that there is a human cost to all these closures. I can only say how sorry I feel for those affected.

Beales