A Big W store has been forced to immediately close its doors after years of low sales, while the COVID-19 pandemic continues to batter Australia’s already embattled retail industry.
The store, which employed 70 people locally in Calmavale, Brisbane, had ‘underperformed for some time’, bosses said.
It is feared to be one of several potential closures as part of an ‘ongoing review’ by Big W’s owners, Woolworths.
Three Sydney stores were closed in January, with the brand announcing in April 2019 it planned to close up to 30 of its beloved shops.
The Big W store in Calamvale (pictured) has closed its doors with immediate effect, with its 70 staff to be sent to work in other shops
The coronavirus lockdown has left shopping centres deserted as retailers temporarily close their doors (pictured, Westfield in Parramatta on April 1)
A spokesman for Big W said closing the store had been a ‘difficult decision’, but that the staff would be redeployed to other shops.
Luckily for locals, there are three more Big W stores within 7km of the closed Calamvale store, one at Browns Plains, one at Underwood and the third at Upper Mount Gravatt.
‘Today we have made the difficult decision to close our Calamvale BIG W store in Brisbane,’ a spokesman told Daily Mail Australia.
‘These decisions are never taken lightly, however as part of our ongoing network review, we need to monitor the future potential of each store and unfortunately this one has underperformed for some time.
Kmart is trialling the closure of three stores to focus on the demand on the online service (pictured, Kmart in Parramatta Westfield)
‘Under the terms of the lease at Calamvale, we’re obliged to cease trading immediately after giving notice to terminate. We regret the short notice it gives to our team and community.
‘We do not anticipate that any future store closures would be subject to such tight time frames.
‘We are committed to doing the right thing by our team and will guarantee the redeployment of all current Calamvale team members to one of many neighbouring stores – whether they’re full time, part time or casual.’
The store was closed immediately after Big W made the decision not to extend its lease at Calamvale Central shopping centre.
It comes as sweeping changes to Australian retail were brought in during the coronavirus pandemic, which has seen thousands of shops shut their doors.
Australia’s retail industry was already struggling with declining sales, which has only been made worse by the lockdown.
Kmart is trailling the closure of a number of stores across Australia as more shoppers choose online shopping during the pandemic.
Certain stores across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria have temporarily closed while coronavirus restrictions remain in place.
Three out of some 240 stores will trial the closure and instead become online delivery centres to keep up with the current demand for online services.
The department store is offering free delivery for orders over $45.
Myer temporarily closed all its stores and stood down 10,000 staff in March, after suffering a serious decline in footfall.
All Myer stores across Australia will be closed for at least a month due to the coronavirus pandemic (pictured in Sydney)
Bosses said the Australian institution, which is 120 years old, would still be open online.
General Pants, Smiggle, and Peter Alexander have also temporarily closed due to the coronavirus fallout.
Fashion giant H&M has also closed all 49 of its stores in Australia until further notice because of the coronavirus crisis.
The company shutdown will leave as many as 1,300 people without jobs across Australia.
Target owner Wesfarmers is considering selling the department store chain or converting some stores into Kmarts in a bid to save the struggling retailer from extinction.
Target (pictured, its Sydney store) could be sold or converted into Kmarts after the department store’s revenue and profits took a ‘significant’ hit during the coronavirus pandemic
Chief executive Rob Scott has revealed the company is looking to make changes for Target to become ‘commercially viable’, following a worse than expected slump in sales from the coronavirus lockdown.
The department store’s revenue and profits have taken a ‘significant’ hit during the pandemic, which have left shopping centres deserted as retailers temporarily close their doors.
Australian bootmakers R.M. Williams has also shut all of its stores due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The renowned brand said the coronavirus crisis had ‘stopped us mid-stride’ and forced it to temporarily close its doors.
The Australian Retailers Association has warned larger fashion companies are most at risk as non-essential services go into lock down and consumers save their money.
ARA’s Executive Director Russell Zimmerman said larger retailers like Myer and David Jones will flounder, despite Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s business rescue package.
The flagship Melbourne H&M store (pictured) closed its doors on April 5 as the company shuts down operations nationwide in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic