It comes after The Times reported earlier this year that New Look was looking to ‘accelerate future store closures’ when leases expire
New Look is closing another store next weekend – after already shutting 32 sites. The fashion retailer is closing its shop in Neath, Wales on August 6.
The news was shared on social media, with a photo that shows a closing down sign in the store. The sign reads: “Thanks for having us, Neath. This store will be closing on Wednesday, 6th August.
“Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to find us at newlook.com with 100s of new styles dropping every week.” Disappointed New Look shoppers have been reacting to the news online.
One person said: “There be nothing in Neath soon.” Another commented: “It’ll become a ghost town soon.” A third said: “Unfortunately it’s the same everywhere. Online shopping has killed the high street.”
It comes after The Times reported earlier this year that New Look was looking to “accelerate future store closures” when leases expire. The newspaper said this was due to the tax increases revealed in October’s budget.
According to the report, around a quarter of its 364 UK stores – around 91 sites – could be at risk of closure. New Look did not confirm this report at the time.
The rate of National Insurance paid by firms increased from 13.8% to 15% from April 2025. The earnings threshold for when employers start paying National Insurance was also lowered from £9,100 per year to £5,000.
At the same time, minimum wage went up by 6.7% – so for someone aged 21 and over, minimum wage is now £12.21 an hour. New Look has closed 32 stores in recent months, including Northfield shopping centre in Birmingham and Willow Place shopping centre in Corby, which both shut in June.
Its branches in St Austell and Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, closed in May, while locations in Porth, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Wickford, Essex, have also shut.
In February, New Look also exited the Republic of Ireland which resulted in the closure of 26 stores.
At the time, the company said: “Due to the increasingly volatile trading conditions we needed to expedite our existing plans, which included conducting a review of our operations in the Republic of Ireland.
“Following this review, the group regrettably concluded it was no longer viable to continue trading here, so it has made the difficult but necessary decision to enter liquidation in this market.”
The company said its Irish operation has struggled for some years, impacted by a range of factors including “supply-chain and in-market costs, and squeezed consumer spending”.
New Look employed a total of 347 people across its network in the Republic of Ireland.