RETAIL bosses have “no intention” of closing down a popular town centre clothing shop despite vowing to shut down hundreds of stores.

H&M, located in the Culver Street Shopping Centre, in Colchester, is set to survive a forthcoming cull of roughly 240 sites across the globe.

The closures, which will mainly occur in what company bosses have described as “established markets”, are a result of the brand suffering a decrease in sales.

Concerns over the future of the town’s fashion outlet had been raised by shoppers earlier this weekend after H&M’s plans to overhaul its offering were revealed.

When asked by the Gazette about the possibility of the town’s store closing down or remaining open, H&M initially refrained from going into detail.

The retail chain has now, however, played down the rumours and stressed Colchester’s H&M very much remains within the company future vision.

A spokesman said: “We have no intention of closing H&M Colchester and our colleagues and Colchester customers remain incredibly important to us.”

Despite the need to close some of its stores, H&M has also revealed plans to open 95 new stores in growing markets throughout the world.