A POPULAR clothing store at a Teesside retail park has announced its closure.

H&M suggested it has closed its Teesside Retail park store due to a lack of demand from customers.

The global fashion retailer had been in negotiations with its landlord to resolve the issue but no agreement was reached.

More than 20 staff were believed to have been employed at the store, which is located next to Boots and JD Sports.  

The closure of the store is a blow for customers on Teesside, with the H&M store in the Middleton Grange shopping centre in Hartlepool the next closest alternative. Further stores in the North East are in Durham, Sunderland, Metrocentre and Newcastle.

Former stores in Middlesbrough and Stockton have also closed over the last few years.

Read more: Starbucks opening new Teesside drive-thru inside former Stockton pub

The Northern Echo: H&M's Teesside Park store. Picture: GOOGLEH&M's Teesside Park store. Picture: GOOGLE (Image: The Northern Echo)

The Teesside closure comes as H&M announced it will close 240 stores across the world following a slowdown in sales during the coronavirus pandemic.

A H&M spokesman said: “Customer behaviour is constantly changing, and we need to adapt accordingly. We want to be where our customers are. The physical store is still extremely important to us and will be a place for customers to shop, discover and be inspired.

"At H&M, we are constantly working to integrate physical and digital stores, we want to find the strength in each channel and make the customer journey smooth."

H&M’s closure comes after Superdry recently announced it was also leaving Teesside Retail Park. But despite the closures, new Costa and Tim Horton’s cafes are due to open at the site in the coming months.

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