Blow for Burnley town centre as retail giant announces popular jewellery store to remain closed for good

Based in a prime spot in Charter Walk, the Burnley branch is one of 82 stores that retail giant Signet Jewellers, which owns H Samuel and Ernest Jones, earmarked to remain shut after its doors closed at the start of the pandemic.

Of the stores closing, 44 are H Samuel branches and 38 are from the Ernest Jones portfolio. The Burnley branch of Ernest Jones, also based in Charter Walk, is not among the list of stores earmarked for closure.

And the cull does not end there as the company has announced that further stores across the UK could be closed by the end of the year.

A spokesman for Signet said: "Amid this challenging pandemic and fluid business conditions, we have accelerated a previous strategy to close some stores permanently starting this month.

"We have introduced a new 'live chat and advice' feature for our customers which will enable our online customers to continue to receive 5* customer service and have the instore experience from the comfort and safety of their own homes.

"We are, of course, contacting our customers, in order to connect them with any orders or repairs that maybe outstanding from the store."