An iconic fashion chain owned by retail giant H&M is the latest to launch a closing down sale as a flurry of outlets struggle against high business rates and inflation.
Monki is set to implement drastic changes to its UK stores – and in some cases, close the shutters entirely.
The company describes itself as the ‘antidote to boredom’ with its collections ‘guided by contemporary youth culture’ to ‘re-imagine young femininity’.
But it will soon merge with another H&M brand in five locations whose name ‘WeekDay’ may not scream so much ‘antidote to boredom’ – as well as see two of its stores close for good.
This comes as Monki recently put up signs at its store in the Arndale Shopping Centre, Manchester, announcing a closure date of January 12.
An H&M spokesman had said: ‘A limited number of Monki stores are intended to be transformed into multi-brand Weekday destinations, while the others are intended to be closed.
‘The newly formed Weekday multi-brand destination will cater to customers’ high aesthetic standards while embracing their multitude of unique expressions.’
Despite the change being described as affecting a ‘limiting’ number of stores, it will impact five of the total seven, with the future of each remaining uncertain while the other two close.
The brand has stores on London ‘s Carnaby Street (pictured) and Manchester’s Arndale Centre
Monki, which targets younger shoppers, will close the seven stores it has across the UK
Beyond the Manchester branch, Monki’s Newcastle upon Tyne branch in Eldon Square will say its goodbyes on January 2.
A list of the other stores who will merge with WeekDay – but whose future remains up in the air – are:
London – 37 Carnaby St, Soho, W1F 7DT
Bristol – Cabot Circus, Concorde St, BS1 3BX
Birmingham – High Street, 41-43 High Street, B4 7SL
Sheffield – 108 Pinstone Street, S1 2HQ Sheffield
Glasgow – Buchanan Galleries, Buchanan St, G1 2FF Glasgow
Monki will continue to be sold on weekday.com and in WeekDay multi-brand stores come 2025.
The retailer will also start stocking Cheap Monday lines in its WeekDay stores.
Currently, all seven shops remain open while the website is still live, with an up to 50% off sale on.
The announcement from H&M comes after it faced stagnant sales in the first nine months of the financial year.
The brand was known for its trendy designs and was popular among Gen Z shoppers for their trademark low-rise jeans
Net sales between December 1, 2023, and August 31 were flat compared to the same time period 12 months before.
It also said sales at the start of the third quarter this year were slow due to colder-than-usual weather while they picked up slightly in July and August.
High street retailers as a whole have suffered their worst sales performance since the pandemic as pre-Christmas discounts failed to encourage spending, a report found earlier this month.
Sales fell 5.8 per cent in November compared to last year amid continuing cost-of-living pressures and ‘wider economic anxiety’, according to accountancy firm BDO.
The end result included online sales falling 7.8 per cent while in-store sales dropped 5.5 per cent – resulting in the worst total since the middle of lockdown in January 2021.
Retail experts lamented the ‘disastrous’ figures for the UK’s industry despite heavy discounts throughout November and ‘hype’ around Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
The fashion sector performed particularly poorly in the High Street Sales Tracker with sales down 8 per cent year-on-year as consumers cut back on clothes spending.
This year’s overall sales fall also followed a 0.3 per cent decline in November 2023.
