A MAJOR car repair hub with thousands of stores nationwide has closed one of its stores.
Halfords on Cardiff's Penarth Road has closed down its shutters for the final time.
"Customers will still be able to purchase from Halfords.com," aspokesperson for the motoring and cycling store said.
"We are working hard to support all of those affected.”
Other active branches in the Welsh capital include locations in Newport Road, North Road and Cowbridge Road West, Wales Online reported.
Halfords has already closed two branches this year, with a spokesperson saying in February it "regularly reviewed" its portfolio.
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It comes after the retailer said its profitability had been knocked by "weakness" in the consumer tyre market.
The go-to store for drivers blamed a shortage of technicians and weak demand for tyres for falling shares.
In July 2020, Halford earmarked 60 stores and garages for closure following a hit in its sales due to coronavirus.
Why are retailers closing branches?
The European retail sector has been in crisis since the 2008 financial crash.
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One of the most famous retailers to fall victim to the crash was high street stalwart Woolworths.
A number of high street retailers have been bearing the brunt of an increase in online shopping in recent years as well, made worse during the coronavirus pandemic.
The online share of retailing was 6.6% in 2006, while in 2013 it was 12.7% and rose to 19.2% in 2019, according to the Centre for Retail Research.
High inflation since 2022 means shoppers have been less inclined to spend their hard-earned cash too.
It has led to a number of high profile retailers including Argos and Iceland closing stores in recent months.
Some have collapsed into administration too, including Paperchase, Wilko and M&Co.
M&Co has since re-launched as an online website.
Not all retailers have just been closing stores though – some are opening branches, or already have, in 2023.
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Poundland is pulling up the shutters for the first time on 15 new stores.
Meanwhile, B&M is opening more than a dozen new branches across the UK by the end of the year.
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