High street favourite with 102 stores shuts shop in UK town | UK | News
The doors of a popular branch of a stationery chain have closed for the last time in a major blow to local shoppers and the high street. Danish chain Flying Tiger Copenhagen has been based in Croydon’s largest shopping centre, the Whitgift Centre, for at least seven years, but its store is now labeled “permanently closed” on Google Maps and signs saying “Goodbye Croydon” can now be seen at the front of the store.
No confirmation statement has been released by Flying Tiger so far and the store’s location still appears open on its website. Flying Tiger has over 100 stores in various cities and shopping malls across the country. Offering everything from home décor and decorations to gifts, stationery and toys, the retailer opened its first store in Copenhagen in 1995 and now operates more than 1,000 stores and more than 93 million customers in nearly 40 countries.
Flying Tiger’s stores feature a recognizable maze-like layout that encourages exploration and dwell time for customers of all ages. The product range covers 13 product categories, from household and kitchenware to toys, stationery and seasonal items.
Before June 2016, the brand operated as Tiger (or Tiger Copenhagen) in most markets and as TGR in Sweden and Norway. Flying Tiger Copenhagen opened its first store in the United Arab Emirates and its first store in Saudi Arabia in 2022. Two years later, it opened its first store in Türkiye and has grown rapidly in the country since then. However, in January this year, Flying Tiger Copenhagen closed all its stores in Malta, exiting the Maltese market altogether, for structural market reasons rather than low sales.
A passerby said of the closure of the Flying Tiger in Croydon: Sun: “This must be the saddest closing. I think I alone supported them in unnecessary but satisfying purchases.”
Others expressed concern about the collapse of Croydon’s 60-year-old shopping centre, saying: “Soon there will be nothing left in Whitgift.”
A number of businesses in Witgift, including Superdry, Poundland and Starbucks, have closed in recent years, as have small, independent retailers. The Sutton & Croydon Guardian reported in October 2025 that more than 70 shops in the center stood empty, with dozens more abandoned and boarded up.
In November 2025, it was confirmed that the Whitgift Center would receive a £1.4bn refurbishment as part of the wider Croydon Partnership to attract more people to the area. In this way, it is aimed to bring more than 300 shops, restaurants and cafes to the center, as well as a larger housing project.
The Express contacted Flying Tiger for comment.
