South-east high street stores have taken a massive hit during the pandemic new figures from the ‘Centre for cities’ show, with some towns even losing more than six months’ worth of sales. The report revealed that places such as Chatham in Kent were amongst the worse hit. This could potentially be the case for Gillingham as locals have said the high street is looking emptier following the closure of the WHSmith Post office and Costa.
The WHSmith Post Office closed officially this month due to business no longer being viable for trading.
A WHSmith spokesperson said: “We can confirm that the WHSmith store in Gillingham will be closing in January 2022.
Unfortunately, we are unable to continue to trade viably from this location and the decision has been taken to close the store as a result of the forthcoming lease expiry.”
This comes after WHSmith closed 25 of its high street stores after a loss of £226 million. Ward councillor for Gillingham North, Cllr Adam Price said the reason for the closure is due to more stationary, magazines and newspapers being bought online.
Jerrys News Agents has been open for 40 years, and since the pandemic, they’ve been faced with fewer customers. Sales assistant, Hardik Braham said: “I’ve only been working here for a month and this high street is completely different to other high streets I’ve visited.
There is a lack of customers and most days I rarely see anyone.”
Opened during the pandemic Seasons Cash and Carry has had a scarce amount of customers. Cashier, Noor said: “I don’t think the situation will change even now the restrictions have been lifted.
Now the Post office, Pharmacy and Costa have closed less people have a reason to be on the street.”
HSBC’s branch on Gillingham High Street is to permanently close down July 16th this year. HSBC says the choice reflected “local market trends, customer behaviour and branch usage”.
The branch has also taken a huge hit since the Covid-19 pandemic struck, the number of customers using its branches has fallen by a third in the last five years.
By Renee Washington