A North West bakery chain has confirmed closures of 19 of its stores due to rising costs and a decrease in visitors.
Sayers Bakery, known across the region, will close a portion of its bakeries, with 100 jobs at risk.
While the locations have not yet been confirmed, the 19 bakeries will shut their doors this month.
The firm has around 800 employees and about 100 of them will be at risk of losing their jobs due to the planned closures, reports The Mirror.
A spokesperson for S&PB Retail Ltd, which operates the bakery shops branded as Sayers the Bakers and Poundbakery, told Newsquest: "Following a comprehensive review of our store portfolio, the Company has concluded that a number of locations are no longer commercially viable.
"After careful consideration, the senior management has therefore proposed to close 19 underperforming shops at the end of August 2026, which is expected to result in approx. 100 redundancies out of 800 employees within the Company.
"This has come about after a very difficult trading period due to a number of factors, particularly a change in customer shopping habits, which has led to a reduction of people on the high street along with inflation on the cost of running the business, which has been difficult to pass on to customers whilst also maintaining sales volumes.
"Our focus is safeguarding the future of the business, investing in our remaining 72 shops and protecting approx. 700 jobs whilst preserving our place on the high street, where we have been for 114 years."
The news comes a year after it said it would have to close its stores in Aintree, West Kirby, and Widnes.
Sayers was established in 1912 and says it "was formed out of the desire to provide only the finest and freshest baked products combined with a consistent and high quality service."
Husband and wife team Fred and Lylian Sayer sold baked goods from a basement kitchen in Old Swan, Liverpool, and eventually, the bakery became part of a retail group that operates the likes of Poundbakery.
However, now the owner is Karen Wood and Mark James and David Silvester operate it.
While Sayers has strong links to the Merseyside area and the wider North West, there is also a store in Flintshire, Wales.
Where are Sayers bakeries?
While the locations closing have not been confirmed, there are plenty to visit, including:
- Ashton on Mersey
- Belle Vale
- Belle Vale Café
- Bidston
- Bispham
- Blackpool – Layton Road
- Blackpool – Whitegate Drive
- Bootle – Knowsley Road
- Bootle – Stanley Road
- Bromborough
- Calderstones
- Davyhulme
- Dovecot
- Euxton
- Garston
- Hunts Cross
- Knutsford
- Leasowe
- Littleborough
- Liverpool – Breck Road
- Liverpool – Lawrence Road
- Liverpool – Moss Lane
- Liverpool – Park Road
- Liverpool – Pilch Lane
- Old Roan
- Partington
- Rochdale – Cutgate Shopping Centre
- Rochdale – Yorkshire Street
- Runcorn Shopping City
- Runcorn Shopping City Café
- Skelmersdale – Sandy Lane
- Shotton
- Southdene
- Speke
- Timperley
- Tranmere
- Weaverham
- West Kirby
- Woodchurch Estate
Do you have a local Sayers Bakery? Tell us in the comments below.
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