Argos has confirmed it is ditching a long-standing Kent store as it becomes the latest big name to turn its back on retail parks.

In a blow for the Riverside Retail Park in Wincheap, Canterbury, the catalogue giant has this week said the branch will be shutting down.

Its departure follows in the footsteps of Mothercare and Carphone Warehouse which both bowed out from the site last year.

The withdrawal leaves just two of the park’s five stores occupied, with the flagship Morrisons supermarket and Boots the only retailers remaining.

Elsewhere in the county, there has been a string of changes over the past year with big name firms collapsing into administration or closing a select number of stores in order to keep afloat.

Harveys, Office Outlet, DW Sports, and Go Outdoors are among the chains predominantly found on retail parks to have pulled the shutters down on Kent stores.

Prof Richard Scase, who has advised governments on economic trends, believes the trading days for retail parks "which offer no experiences" are now limited.

"I see them going in the next five to 10 years time - and that's at the most," he said.

"They will just go. And what are you going to do with these vacant buildings?

"They can't really be used for anything else. Or you might get very cheap discount stores moving in, but that's not really the shopping experience people go for.

"The sorts of products being offered at the sorts of stores on retail parks are particularly vulnerable because you don't need to touch it and feel it. They sell standardised products."

With numerous closures and little trading, the market value of retail parks has also been hard hit hard in the past year, with figures dropping by by approximately 30%.

"Retail parks fall somewhere between town centres on one hand, and online shopping on the other - so they are at risk, especially the smaller ones," Prof Scase said.

"The larger parks like Westwood Cross offer restaurants and fast food outlets and will often have a cinema there. So they are a hub for social activity in addition to the shopping experience.

"They do have a future.

"But at your smaller retail parks there are no bolt-ons. There's no reason to go there other than for shopping - they offer no experience at all.

"When you get a few stores closing on the smaller retail parks, it gives a depressing impression and destroys the shopping experience.

"It then attracts skateboarders and anti-social behaviour, so you get a kind of downward spiral.

"You've got to have a critical mass of open stores for retail parks to be vibrant and attractive hubs that draw people to it."

Overall, 420 standalone Argos stores will be closed down by 2024, leaving only about 100 across the country.

The retailing stalwart has this week confirmed its base in Wincheap will be one of those to shut, with staff being offered “opportunities to redeploy to alternative roles within Sainsbury’s” where it has collection points.

Its departure from Wincheap is part of a nationwide reshuffle resulting in the closure of hundreds of standalone branches, but the Argos Extra off Sturry Road is set to remain in operation.

'I see them going in the next five to 10 years time - and that's at the most...'

The 10,000 sq ft Argos unit, which was built in 2000, is now on the market to rent for £237,833 per year.

"With Argos, you're basically going onto a computer to order stuff and then you collect it. So you might as well do it from home and get it delivered or go and collect it," Prof Scase said.

"There's been a real shift online shopping in retailing - it's gone up from about 20% to 36% in the past year."

This week also saw the announcement that two John Lewis stores in Kent will be closing.

The Tunbridge Wells branch on the Kingstanding Retail Park is to be axed, while the Ashford store which stands alone - overlooking the busy Drovers Roundabout - will also not be reopening.

There is planning permission to build a retail park next to Ashford's John Lewis, but work is yet to start.

Elsewhere in Wincheap, the former Homebase store in Cow Lane - which has stood empty for more than two years - is set to finally be occupied by another operator.

Wickes was set to move in but pulled out of negotiations after failing to secure permission to chop down mature trees surrounding the site’s car park.

Now, the city council - which owns the premises and has lost out on hundreds of thousands of pounds in potential rental income over the past years - says it has found a new tenant.

Plans have been submitted to resurface the car park and erect a fence to cater for a new “building merchants” firm. The council is currently remaining tight-lipped over the name of the company planning to move in.

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