From buying your pick and mix in Woolworths to renting a video at Blockbuster, many of us often look back with nostalgia at visiting the high street as it was.
For others, maybe it was a trip to buy clothes at C&A or picking up new trainers at JJB Sports – or even purchasing your grandmother’s birthday gift at Past Times.
But bricks and mortar retail across towns and cities has been devastated in recent decades by the shift to online shopping which was exacerbated by the pandemic.
A squeeze in disposable income, higher cost pressures and changes to consumer spending habits have also led to well-known brands falling into administration.
This week, Topshop and Topman sent shoppers into meltdown with a bombshell announcement five years after they vanished from the high street – with a post showing a couple standing on an industrial rooftop below a huge Topshop sign.
Cutting to black, a message said: ‘We missed you too’. Captions across three posts added: ‘We’ve been listening’. And its website also teased a huge return, with the homepage of www.topshop.com simply saying: ‘Topshop coming soon.’
As Brits hope this means Topshop could be returning to high streets, MailOnline looks back at some of the biggest brands to have disappeared in recent years:
Army & Navy Stores
The department store chain began life in 1871 as a co-operative for military officers, before having its heyday in the 1950s and 60s during a period of expansion. It was bought by House of Fraser in 1973 before the final stores were re-branded in 2005.
Barratts Shoes
The high street shoe chain was founded in Northampton in 1903 and had the slogan ‘Walk the Barratt Way’. It had 400 stores at its peak but was hit by low-cost foreign competition before going into administration three times between 2009 and 2013.
Blockbuster
The video rental store’s first outlet was in Texas in 1985 and it opened in the UK four years later. The chain later sold video games but filed for US bankruptcy in 2010 and closed its final UK store in 2013 after being undone by online rental and streaming.
British Home Stores
BHS was a high street stalwart for 88 years after being set up by US entrepreneurs in Brixton in 1928. The department store chain was bought by Sir Philip Green in 2000 but suffered against cheaper competition and filed for administration in 2016.
C&A
The clothing retailer was set up by brothers Clemens and August Brenninkmeijer in the Netherlands in 1841 and operated in the UK from 1922 until 2001, becoming a popular shop for school clothes. It still has 1,300 stores in Europe and 300 in Brazil.
Cath Kidston
Antique curtain dealer Cath Kidston opened a curtain shop in London in 1987 before another store in 1993 that focused on the floral print designs across other clothing and homewares. But it fell into administration and Next bought the brand in 2023.
Comet
The electronics retailer was founded in 1933 as a business charging batteries for wireless sets, before opening its first store in 1968 in Hull. But having grown to 240 shops, it could not compete with the internet and went into administration in 2012.
Debenhams
Debenhams was on high streets for 243 years after William Clark opened a drapers store in London in 1778. But its final stores shut for good in 2021 amid slumping sales exacerbated by the pandemic. It now has an online store owned by Boohoo.
Dorothy Perkins
The retailer was established in 1909 as a women’s clothing store and was initially focused on lingerie, tights and sleepwear. In 1979 it was bought by the Burton Group, later Arcadia, but all of its shops closed in 2021 when it was bought out by Boohoo.
Evans
The plus-size womenswear retailer was founded in 1930 and had 300 stores around the UK. It was the first part of Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group to be sold off in 2020 in a deal that saw all of its stores close – although it remains as an online-only brand.
Jane Norman
Another women’s clothing retailer, Jane Norman was founded in 1952 and aimed itself at 16 to 25-year-olds, but disappeared from the high street in 2014 when its owner Edinburgh Woollen Mill decided to close the chain due to financial issues.
JJB Sports
The sports chain was founded in Wigan in 1971 by ex-professional footballer Dave Whelan and reached a peak of 430 stores across the UK and Ireland by 2005, but suffered against competition from Sports Direct – which it was bought by in 2012.
Miss Selfridge
The youth fashion chain began life as a section of the Selfridges store in London in 1966, before its own independent stores were opened. The firm was bought by Arcadia in 1999 before being sold to Asos in February 2021 and it is now online-only.
Mothercare
The first store opened in 1961 in Surrey, focusing on pushchairs, nursery furniture and maternity clothing. But all its UK shops closed in 2019 after being loss-making for a number of years, with cost pressures and reduced consumer spending cited.
Oasis
The first Oasis stores opened in 1991 and it floated on the London stock exchange in 1995 before purchasing Coast stores in 1998. But it went into administration at the start of the pandemic, and was later bought by Boohoo – now trading online-only.
Past Times
The retailer specialising in retro-style gifts was established as a mail order firm in 1986 and opened its first store in Oxford one year later. It had nearly 100 stores at its peak, but it went into administration in 2012 and WH Smith bought the brand name.
Safeway
One of the UK’s most famous supermarket names was founded in the US in 1962 before being bought by Morrisons in a £3billion deal in 2004 which saw all the stores rebranded or sold. Morrisons later revived the name for some products in 2016.
Tammy Girl
The fashion retailer was popular with teenage girls in the 90s and 00s before being closed in 2005 when it was bought and incorporated into BHS stores. However, in May 2022 owner Daisy Street revived the brand online in a collaboration with Asos.
Texas Homecare
Texas was a UK chain of DIY stores established in the UK in 1972. Known for its advertising slogan ‘Texas – The Big One’, the business was bought by Sainsbury’s in 1995, with some stores closed and others converted to Homebase by 1999.
The Gadget Shop
The retailer was established in 1991 by Jonathan Elvidge, selling novelty toys alongside electronic equipment. It grew to 45 stores but fell into administration in 2005 amid intense competition against rival department stores and toy shops.
Thorntons
The British chocolate maker began life in Sheffield in 1911 and was bought by Ferrero of Italy in 2015, but struggled amid a switch to online spending which was intensified by the pandemic and closed all stores in 2021. However, the brand still exists online.
Toys R Us
The US toy store expanded to the UK in 1985 and had more than 100 stores in the country. All outlets closed in 2018 after it fell into administration with 2,000 jobs lost, but the brand has reappeared in recent years as concessions in WH Smith stores.
Virgin Megastores
The entertainment chain was founded by Sir Richard Branson in 1971 and its Oxford Street outlet was billed as ‘Europe’s largest discount record store’. But amid stiff competition it was sold in 2007 and became Zaavi – which then also closed in 2008.
Warehouse
The clothing retailer was founded in 1976 and opened its first store on London’s Duke Street. The brand was owned along with Oasis by Icelandic bank Kaupthing but went into administration in April 2020. Its online business was later bought by Boohoo.
Wilko
The home retailer collapsed in 2023 after more than 90 years in business, having been running 400 shops and employing 12,000 people. However, a small number of outlets have since reopened after the brand was bought by The Range’s owners.
Woolworths
The much-loved high street variety retailer launched in Liverpool in 1909 and had more than 800 shops in the UK – but went into administration in 2008 with all stores closed and 27,000 jobs lost. The brand still exists abroad, including in Germany.
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