New blow for Wick town centre with Semichem store to close

The Semichem shop in Wick is to close in what will be seen as another blow for the town centre.

The High Street store is one of number that are to shut, with 140 staff around the country entering a consultation process.

The health and household goods retailer says the closure programme is a result of changing shopping habits which have been exacerbated by the pandemic.

Semichem issued a list of 22 stores across Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north-east of England that will be affected.

Six branches are said to be "under review", with the remaining 16 – including Wick – confirmed as closing.

The Semichem store in Rotterdam Street, Thurso, is not on the list.

The business, which is owned by Scotmid Co-operative, is in talks with landlords in several locations.

A spokesperson said the earliest closures would take place in late April.

A total of 140 Semichem staff have now entered a formal consultation process. Managers at Scotmid are said to be exploring opportunities to redeploy as many as possible within its wider business.

Karen Scott, head of Semichem, said: “High streets were already struggling to adapt to the pace of change in shopping habits, including out-of-town developments and the rise of internet shopping.

“That change has undoubtedly been accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Sadly, we have reached the point where it is no longer viable to keep some of our stores open.

“We are grateful for both Scotmid and subsequent government support, which has undoubtedly prolonged the life of many stores.

“Our priority now is to support affected colleagues at this difficult time. We are already looking for redeployment opportunities within the Scotmid group and will help all our staff both personally and professionally.

“The remaining stores in our Semichem portfolio are trading satisfactorily given the current circumstances. Like many other retailers, we are hopeful that, as restrictions ease, footfall will return to our high streets. I am also pleased to say that our investment programme will resume in the summer.”

Semichem was founded in 1980 and became part of Scotmid Co-operative in 1995. It has 86 stores across Northern Ireland, Scotland and the north-east of England.

The news of the Wick closure comes just a couple of weeks after the town's TSB branch – just across the road – shut its doors for the last time.

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