\n The British Heart Foundation store in Millers Walk, Fakenham is among the first 87 branches set to close permanently, with further sites still at risk.\n<\/p>\n
\n The charity announced that the first wave will close by March 2027, following a review of its retail estate.\n<\/p>\n
\n A total of 150 of the brand’s 640 locations will then shut across a two-year period due to rising operational costs, decreased footfall and changes to consumer habits.\n<\/p>\n
\n British Heart Foundation chief executive, Dr Charmaine Griffiths, said: \u201cOur shops mean so much to our colleagues, brilliant volunteers and communities across the UK.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThey are places where people come together to donate, shop and volunteer, helping to make a real difference to lives affected by cardiovascular disease.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cWe know this will be a difficult time for our dedicated colleagues and volunteers in affected stores and emphasise our deep appreciation and gratitude for all they have done for BHF and the communities they serve.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cLike most retailers, we are facing an exceptionally challenging trading environment.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Allison Swaine-Hughes, the group\u2019s chief commercial officer, said: “Our success to date has been shaped by the dedication and contribution of our teams across the UK and this has been an incredibly difficult decision following a thorough and careful review.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cWe must act now to ensure a sustainable future for BHF retail.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Change is essential so we can continue to serve communities across the UK and raise the funds that power our lifesaving research.”\n<\/p>\n
\n A further 63 stores could be at risk while the second wave of closures remains yet to be finalised.\n<\/p>\n
\n Norfolk has seven shops including in Norwich, Thetford, Sheringham, Fakenham, and Great Yarmouth.\n<\/p>\n
\n The foundation will support impacted employees throughout the closures, with opportunities for redeployment offered wherever possible.\n<\/p>\n
\n Customers will be able to donate and shop as normal while stores remain open.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The British Heart Foundation store in Millers Walk, Fakenham is among the first 87 branches set to close…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":782049,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[1397,90,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-782048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=782048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/782049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=782048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=782048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=782048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}