Flagship store closure is 'dramatic loss' for town

A flagship store's closure has been described as a "dramatic loss" for a town centre as experts say consumers' habits are shifting.

Decathlon, which has been part of Cheltenham's Regent Arcade since November 2021, operated within a large unit at the shopping centre, but has announced it will shut on 29 August.

Francesca Inman, chief executive of Cheltenham Business Improvement District, said the loss of Decathlon is "dramatic" as it has been "a really distinctive part of the town centre since opening".

She said: "We've got a change in consumer habits and an increasingly competitive retail environment."

Decathlon did not directly respond to the BBC's request for comment but, in a statement posted online, the brand said customers can no longer make click and collect orders to be delivered to the Cheltenham store ahead of its closure.

The shop in Regent Arcade was the French brand's first branch in the south-west of England.

Inman said the imminent closure of the Decathlon store comes amid "a really challenging time" for high street businesses across the country.

"Cheltenham isn't immune to those challenges but, at the same time, we still continue to have a really diverse town centre, so we just need to work collectively to make sure it remains a place where businesses want to invest and that people want to spend time," she added.

Inman added the town is sitting at a 7.8% vacancy rate with regards to retail units, compared to the 14% national average.

"I think [the Decathlon store] is quite a large space, so it's hard to say whether it would be easy to fill or not but we've had the likes of Mango come recently, which is a big, well-known retailer, and several others," Inman said.

"My hope would be that it does fill quickly."

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