SAINSBURY'S has confirmed it will be permanently closing one of its Andover stores.

In a statement to the Advertiser, the supermarket giant said the move to shut its Bridge Street shop was part of a previous announcement to close stores across the country.

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said, “We have updated colleagues on the difficult decision to close our Andover store and we are doing everything we can to find alternative roles within Sainsbury’s for those affected.

“Customers can continue to shop with us at our nearby stores. For example, our Andover North store is a short drive away."

In September last year, the group said it would shut up to 70 Argos shops and open around 80 instead within its supermarkets, while it also planned to close up to 15 large supermarkets and as many as 40 convenience stores.

This came after Sainsbury's said like-for-like grocery sales rose by 0.6% in the second quarter of 2019, but was offset by a 2% drop in general merchandise sales - which includes the Argos business.

Chief executive Mike Coupe said at the time: "Sales momentum was stronger in all areas and we further improved our performance relative to our competitors, particularly in grocery.

"Argos continued to grow market share in key categories, but sales were impacted by reduced promotional activity and the timing of new product releases in gaming and toys."