Smythson is closing its New Bond Street store to “further support its ability to continue as a going concern”.
It follows a string of store closures including at the Royal Exchange and Westbourne Grove in London, Terminal 2 in Heathrow Airport, and Bicester Village in Oxfordshire, along with its Madison Avenue shop in New York, according to The Telegraph.
The closures come as the leather goods and stationery retailer looks to cut costs as it warned that inflation, high interest rates and the cost-of-living crisis have created uncertainty in the luxury goods market.
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Smythson has struggled since the pandemic, with profits and sales declining amid a drop in traveller numbers and slowdown in the luxury goods industry.
However, the business saw pre-tax losses narrow slightly to £7.3m during the year to 2 April 2023, compared to £8.5m the year prior, despite its travel locations continuing to be impacted by less international travel and fewer passengers during the first half of the year.
Despite looking to close its New Bond Street store, Smythson said it may open another store on the famous London shopping street “in the near future”.
The closure comes after several luxury retailers such as Fenwick and Mulberry have recently closed stores on New Bond Street, which is the most expensive street in Britain for prime retail rentals, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
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