Blacks to close Festival Place branch in Basingstoke

Outdoor retailer Blacks is closing its Festival Place store in Basingstoke, with signs in the window confirming the closure.

This is the latest in a string of closures affecting the brand nationwide.

The store, on the upper level of Festival Place shopping centre, stocks outdoor clothing and equipment from brands including Berghaus, Columbia and The North Face.

Blacks in Ffestival Place is closing down (Image: Newsquest)

The closure is part of a significant contraction of the Blacks brand across the UK.

As of May 2026, only 22 Blacks Outdoors stores remain open nationally, with the majority of locations having been converted to sister brand Go Outdoors under the same parent company, JD Sports Fashion.

The brand was acquired by JD Sports in 2012 for £20 million following a period of financial difficulty.

Blacks has been hit by a wave of closures and rebrands in recent years. Stores in Glasgow, Bury St Edmunds, Sheffield and Leicester have all shut or converted, with a closing-down sale more recently confirmed at the brand's Shrewsbury branch.

Some locations, such as in Sheffield's The Moor, were briefly announced as Go Outdoors Express conversions before plans were reversed.

JD Sports has simultaneously invested in five "pinnacle" Blacks stores in Aintree, Brighton, Glasgow, Harrogate and Meadowhall, relaunching them in April 2026 as part of a repositioning of the brand as a premium outdoor destination.

Blacks and Festival Place have been approached for comment.