Shoppers have expressed shock and sadness at learning that high street retailer H&M is to close its store in Durham.

H&M formally announced the closure on Monday night (July 18), after signs have gone up at its store in Prince Bishops Shopping Centre notifying shoppers of the move. 

One customer took to social media posting a grab announcing it would close as soon as Sunday (July 24).

The Northern Echo: A grab of a message sent to one customer Picture: HAND-INA grab of a message sent to one customer Picture: HAND-IN

She wrote: “Another empty unit. What happened to our beautiful Durham?”

Helen Brown posted on Facebook: "I don't have time to shop in stores I do loads on line (I know I should go to the stores) I think online won't be helping either."

Also coming under ridicule was H&M’s notice to customers noting “We’re closing” and then adding “We’ll always be here for you”.

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It is not clear how many members of staff will be affected by the move.

The news comes months after H&M announced the closure of Teesside Retail Park’s H&M store, with up to 20 staff members affected. 

The nearest H&M store to shoppers in Teesside is now in the Middleton Grange shopping centre in Hartlepool.

Further stores in the North East are in the The Bridges in Sunderland, the Metrocentre and Eldon Square in Newcastle.

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

H&M UK said in a statement: "During the last few years, we have seen a rapid change in customer behaviour that we cannot ignore.

"We continuously need to evaluate and develop our business to meet our customers’ needs and offer the best possible shopping experience, whether it’s online or in our physical stores.

"Our ambition is to continue investing in our customers, open new stores where we see opportunities and develop our digital channels.

"We continuously evaluate how we should invest in stores and sometimes decisions must be made to enable long-term growth. This means that we sometimes need to close stores. This decision has now been made for our Durham store."

The statement continued: "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, says a spokesperson at H&M UK & Ireland.

"Our customers can continue to shop in the nearby stores, and as always on hm.com."

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