The COVID-19 pandemic has battered sales at 19 Gap stores in the UK and Ireland while its distribution centre in Rugby continues to remain at risk. The retailer has decided against renewing store leases that expire next month. Last year, it closed 204 stores due to pandemic. The retailer also lost $665 million in revenues during the year upto January 2021 but has since seen its fortunes improve. It booked a profit of $166 million in the three months to the end of May, on sales of $3.9 billion, higher than the revenue figure it reported in the same period of 2019, the last comparable quarter before the pandemic.

The pandemic has led to may high street fashion retailers closing stores permanently. In the last one year, reputed retailers like TopShop, Debenhams, Cath Kidston, Oasis and Warehouse have shut shop. Collectively, British high streets lost over 17,500 retail stores with further damage likely to have been inflicted in 2021.

A study by the Centre for Retail Research shows, the sector also lost 190,000 jobs between the start of the pandemic and March 31, 2021. Stores closures may continue with jobs losses despite easing of restrictions, warns Helen Dickenson, CEO, British Retail Consortium.