Iconic electrical retailer Comet is back more than a decade after it closed its doors. That’s cause for celebration as it’s not often that lost names make a return.
The UK high street has changed a lot in recent years, particularly as many retailers shut up shop for good as they became casualties of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sadly though, shops closing - and having economic and socio-cultural factors contribute to this - is nothing new. As our gallery below shows, there are many stores that have disappared from our high street in the last 20 years or so.
Some of these brand names have gone altogether, while others have re-branded or launched as online only companies. Take a look through our gallery and see which ones you remember.
25. Barratts Shoes
Barratts Shoes was established all the way back in 1903. It was extremely popular all the way through the 1900ss. The struggles started in the 2000s and the company entered administration for the third time in five years in November 2013. The brand still operates online. | Barratts Shoes
26. Dixons
Dixons was one of the largest consumer electronics retailers in Europe. The company operated Currys, Currys Digital, PC World (with stores later dual branded ‘Currys PC World’) between 1937 and 2014, when it merged with Carphone Warehouse. Standalone Dixons stores then closed. Carphone Warehouse moved online in 2020. | Getty Images
27. Staples
Staples was a go to store for kids up and down the country for all their back-to-school stationery needs in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. All UK stores closed in 2016. | Tupungato - stock.adobe.com
28. Sir Philip Green's Arcadia Group, which owned some of Britain's best-known fashion retailers, collapsed into administration in November 2020.
Sir Philip Green's Arcadia Group, which owned some of Britain's best-known fashion retailers, collapsed into administration in November 2020. At its peak, the group operated more than 400 stores across the UK, with brands including Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Wallis and Evans. Boohoo bought Dorothy Perkins, Burton and Wallis for £25.2million, and all of those businesses now operate online only. In February, Topshop and Topman made a return to physical retail through a partnership with John Lewis. Miss Selfridge, meanwhile, remains an online brand through ASOS. | AFP via Getty Images