Chain shuts ‘too small’ TK Maxx

7:44am Friday 16th May 2008

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ONE of Basildon's fashion and homewear stores has unexpectedly closed.

Shoppers hunting for designer label bargains will no longer be able to search through the rails at TK Maxx in the Eastgate Shopping Centre.

The closure comes as bosses of the company, which operates 210 shops across the UK and 2,000 across the USA and Canada, decided not to renew the Basildon store's lease.

The decision was made because the store was "too small".

Patrick Turnbull, Property Director at TK Maxx, said: "In recent months the shop unit was recognised as being the wrong size for the brand's particular style of retailing.

"Over recent years, we have been steadily increasing the size of TK Maxx stores, introducing departments and working on an optimum size for our off-price retail concept, which is ideally 30,000 sq ft.

"Regrettably, as part of this process, we have decided to close any unsuitable smaller store formats and so have not renewed the lease on the Eastgate Centre store."

The store, which opened in May 1999, is one of the smallest TK Maxx outlets in the country and is dwarfed by the two-storey branch at Lakeside.

Natalie Callas, a spokeswoman for the store, said she could not comment on whether a new and bigger branch will open in Basildon in the future.

As well as Thurrock there is also a TK Maxx branch in Southend's Royal Shopping Centre.

However, there are no plans to close either of these branches.