Kingston’s Clas Ohlson store is set to close, after the Swedish budget retailer announced it would be closing all UK stores to focus on online shopping.

The retailer announced in a statement on Wednesday (December 5) it would be closing all its stores in the UK and Germany due to “significant losses”.

The Swedish company has not specified when the Kingston store would close, saying the planning of the closure will be made after “careful consideration of the lease terms for each store”.

The move will affect around 150 employers in the UK and Germany, but it’s not clear how many employees will be affected in Kingston.

President and CEO of Clas Ohlson Lotta Lyrå said: “After ten years, the business in the UK is continuing to incur significant losses despite measures in recent years to optimise the store network.

“The store network in the UK and Germany will be discontinued and in line with the new direction our presence in these markets will be concentrated to online shopping.

“This direction will allow us to develop a scalable business model for the UK and Germany initially, and then later in other markets.”