TK Maxx is to close its store in Hanley town centre on 9 August, with a new location opening at Festival retail park four days later on 13 August.
The move has prompted concern from local residents and the city council about the future of Hanley's town centre. Stoke-on-Trent City Council said it is disappointed that managers have decided to relocate out of the city centre.
Residents' Concerns About Town Centre Decline
Tonia Edwards, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, told the BBC there was now a "lack of people" in the city centre and that the "soul" has been taken out of Hanley.
"There's just nothing here to come for, it's all charity or vape shops, so what's the point?" Edwards said.
Her friend Maria Walley, also from Newcastle, said she would not return to Hanley once TK Maxx closes. "We will go [to the Festival park], but where we would come here say weekly, we might go there every other week, even though that's free parking. [That's] because you've only got certain shops there to attract you," Walley explained.
Walley pointed to high business rates as a contributing factor. "The trouble is, if the rates are too high, the businesses won't be here, even... betting shops have decided they are shutting up shop," she said.
Wider Retail Challenges
Andy Hughes, from Burslem, said rents were "too expensive" and that online shopping was "partly to blame" for the city centre's difficulties. He added that he knew "a few people who had market stalls in Hanley and they ended up going down Stoke".
Hughes highlighted competition from larger towns and cities. "The little cities, little towns, the big major ones, they can compete can't they with one and another. I mean you can get on a train [and] go [to] Manchester, Chester, Derby and Nottingham," he said.
TK Maxx's departure will leave Primark as the last big name clothing store in the city centre.
Council's Response
Stoke-on-Trent City Council said its "emerging city centre masterplan sets out a realistic, longer-term vision" to revitalise the area.