High street retailer launches closing down sale ahead of shutting six stores

GAME has launched massive closing down sales at six of its stores before they close for good within the next few weeks.

With discounts of up to 20% off, the retailer has announced the closing of six branches from August to the end of September, two of which are the Eldon Square, Newcastle, and Galleries Shopping Centre, Bristol.

GAME has around 240 stores and is known to sell video games, consoles, and LEGO. The brand is owned by Frasers Group - which also acts as the parent group for high street stores Sports Direct and House of Fraser. It comes after Royal Mail made a major delivery rule change from this week for millions of UK homes.

Chronicle Live reported the spotting of closing down sale signs outside the Eldon Square branch in July, with more signs appearing since the first sighting. With the prediction of discounts to increase ahead of the closing store's final open day, shoppers have yet to be told when this will be - in August, September, or a much later date.

The Metrocentre Shopping Centre in Gateshead has also been confirmed to close, along with the GAME brand in Southend, Essex. These will follow the closing of Manchester's Trafford Centre store - which took place in June - and Nottingham's Victoria Centre outlet in July.

Owned by businessman Mike Ashley, who acquired the retailer in 2019 as part of a £52 million deal, GAME announced its plans to reduce its stores by 30 in January, 2020. What used to be at least 300 stores across the UK, is now around 240, with more to go, reports the Sun.

READ MORE: HMRC rule change means certain Brits could be pursued for £1,350

READ MORE: All jobs eligible for a Blue Light Card with hundreds of discounts across UK

This could be chalked down to the recent struggle of high street stores, with many consumers opting for online purchasing, leaving retailers to fork out for higher rental, as well as wage and energy costs.

The Centre for Retail Research reports that the industry finds itself within a "perma-crisis," the first since 2008's financial crash. The Centre's findings highlight 34 retail companies, spread across a number of stores, had stopped trading in 2024, leading to the overall closure of 7,537 shops since.

With the national minimum wage increasing to £12.21 per hour, high-street favourites such as Poundland and Hobby Craft are set to carry out mass closures too in 2025.