High street fashion chain Monki will be closing its Manchester Arndale branch within weeks. The store, which opened in 2018 , will shuts its doors on Tuesday, January 17. Monki's Newcastle store will also close next month as part of a shake-up.
Earlier this month, owners H&M announced that it would be closing all seven of its Monki branches in the UK. In the update, the fashion brand said it was planning to either shut or merge the stores with fellow brand Weekday. The future of the five other Monki sites remains uncertain.
Monki's online store will also continue to operate normally during this time, and the brand will continue to be sold on the Weekday website. The Swedish retail giant said it wanted to combine the two brands to create a one-stop shop that is the 'ultimate youth destination for style and creative expression'. The Weekday/Monki multi-brand stores will open in 2025.
The statement from H&M read: "A limited number of Monki stores are intended to be transformed into multi-brand Weekday destinations, while the others are intended to be closed. The newly formed Weekday multi-brand destination will cater to customers' high aesthetic standards while embracing their multitude of unique expressions." H&M has also not given details about the number of employees involved and whether jobs will be protected.
According to H&M Group's own information published in August this year, Monki is currently active with 56 stores in 15 markets. The brand also operates webshops in 29 .