Retailer Monsoon Accessorize set to close its store in Peterborough's Queensgate Shopping Centre

A prominent women’s clothing and accessories store in Peterborough’s Queensgate Shopping Centre is set to close its doors permanently.

Monsoon Accessorize, based on the ground floor of the shopping centre, will cease trading on Thursday, May 23.

A representative of the store, which is made of two brands, the clothing retailer Monsoon and fashion accessories Accessorize, which are both owned by Adena Brands, confirmed its closure plans.

It is not known how many staff will be made redundant when the store closes.

The closure is part of an ongoing change in the business, which has seen it move away from its dual Monsoon & Accessorize stores to mono-brand Accessorize stores and Monsoon boutiques in new locations.

Just last month, Monsoon Accessorize announced that its pre-tax profits had fallen to £14.1 million in the year to August 26, 2023 - down from £17.8 million a year earlier.

It blamed ‘difficult’ trading conditions for the fall.

But the company’s annual report states: “The group continued to realign its retail portfolio, closing larger dual brand legacy stores and opening mono-brand Accessorize stores and Monsoon boutiques.

"The business benefits significantly from the better experience in our new mono-brand stores and their much improved locations.”

It says profitability of its stores has made a significant contribution to the group’s results.

A spokesperson for Queensgate confirmed Monsoon Accessorize was closing and another retailer was looking to move into part of the store.

Dr Cheryl Greyson, senior lecturer business at ARU Peterborough, said: “Unfortunately, the Monsoon and Accessorize store in Queensgate is another casualty of changing retail formats, as we saw recently with M&S.

"It’s good news that Queensgate already has another retailer interested in part of the space, and let’s hope more retailers will be attracted to the new-look retail and leisure space as plans for Frasers and the Odeon Cinema forge forward.”

The closure announcement comes just three weeks after Marks and Spencer permanently shut its store in the centre with the loss of 78 jobs following several high profile store closures including Joules, The Body Shop, John Lewis and Next.

However, the centre is likely to be buoyed over the next year with the expected opening in November of the Odeon Cinema and the arrival next year of retail giant Frasers.