A FAMILY favourite restaurant chain has abruptly closed one of its sites.
Yo! Sushi, which has more than 500 UK sites as well as supermarket concessions, has shuttered its branch in Swindon.
1
Yo!, which is famous for its sushi conveyor belts, closed up shop at the Designer Outlet Village over the weekend.
The brand opened its restaurant in the shopping village in August 2021.
But after just three years, the designer shopping centre confirmed the restaurant has closed.
No new occupant for the site has been announced.
News of the restaurant’s closure was discussed by Facebook locals, who complained about the prices.
One said: “I enjoyed it, but far too expensive.”
Another added: “Too expensive + tiny portions = awful value for money so no repeat business.
“People went once and said never again.”
But reviews for the site online were glowing.
One said: “The staff couldn’t do enough to help and were so welcoming. We had the kids bento boxes which were really great value, so much food!
“Then we ordered some bits and got some items off the belt. All the food was perfect and so delicious. It was my kid’s first time and they have already been begging to go again!”
A second wrote: “Good tasty food nice fresh noodles tasty toppings I enjoyed my meal.”
“Very nice atmosphere, the food train concept is very nice, should definitely try once,” another commented.
It’s important to note that just because Yo! has shut this site, it doesn’t mean the chain is in trouble and chains close branches for all sorts of reasons including rent negotiations and moving elsewhere.
The Sun reached out to Yo! for comment and will update this story when we hear back.
Last year Yo!’s parent company was sold to Japanese food giant Zensho Holdings for $621m (£500m).
In its last published accounts, it reported a revenue boost of 53.8% in the year ended 27 November 2022.
Why are retailers closing shops?
EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre’s decline.
The Sun’s business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.
In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.
Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open. In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.
The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.
Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead.
Boss Stuart Machin recently said that when it relocated a tired store in Chesterfield to a new big store in a retail park half a mile away, its sales in the area rose by 103 per cent.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Wilko, Debenhams Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Paperchase to name a few.
What’s increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.
Restaurant chains continue to feel the pinch
The hospitality sector has struggled to bounce back after the pandemic, facing challenges including soaring energy bills, inflation and staff shortages.
Some well-known retailers have shut a handful of branches, while others have disappeared from the high street for good.
In January 2023, Byron Burger fell into administration with owners saying it would result in the loss of over 200 jobs.
Italian dining chain Prezzo revealed plans to shut 46 restaurants back in April 2023 as a result of soaring energy and food costs, putting 810 jobs at risk.
TRG, which owned Frankie & Benny’s, Chiquito and Wagamama, revealed that it would shut down around 40 sites by April 2024 and went on to sell its Frankie & Bennys and Chiquito brands to Cafe Rouge owner The Big Table group.
Pizza giant, Papa Johns is shutting down 43 of its stores soon.
Tasty, the owner of Wildwood, said it will shut sites as part of major restructuring plans.
Stonegate, has also raised fears about its survival as it races to plug its debts.
Whitbread recently revealed plans to slash its chain of branded restaurants across the UK.
Why are retailers closing stores?
RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
The high street has seen a whole raft of closures over the past year, and more are coming.
The number of jobs lost in British retail dropped last year, but 120,000 people still lost their employment, figures have suggested.
Figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed that 10,494 shops closed for the last time during 2023, and 119,405 jobs were lost in the sector.
It was fewer shops than had been lost for several years, and a reduction from 151,641 jobs lost in 2022.
The centre’s director, Professor Joshua Bamfield, said the improvement is “less bad” than good.
Although there were some big-name losses from the high street, including Wilko, many large companies had already gone bust before 2022, the centre said, such as Topshop owner Arcadia, Jessops and Debenhams.
“The cost-of-living crisis, inflation and increases in interest rates have led many consumers to tighten their belts, reducing retail spend,” Prof Bamfield said.
“Retailers themselves have suffered increasing energy and occupancy costs, staff shortages and falling demand that have made rebuilding profits after extensive store closures during the pandemic exceptionally difficult.”
Alongside Wilko, which employed around 12,000 people when it collapsed, 2023’s biggest failures included Paperchase, Cath Kidston, Planet Organic and Tile Giant.
The Centre for Retail Research said most stores were closed because companies were trying to reorganise and cut costs rather than the business failing.
However, experts have warned there will likely be more failures this year as consumers keep their belts tight and borrowing costs soar for businesses.
The Body Shop and Ted Baker are the biggest names to have already collapsed into administration this year.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories