Among the many failed retail stores that closed shop in department stores was Comet, an electronics retail chain in the United Kingdom. Comet was founded in 1933 and was listed on the stock exchange in 1972. It was later purchased by Woolworths, which in turn was owned by Kingfisher. In 2003 it was then operated by Kesa Electricals, who would later sell it to OpCapita, a private equity firm, in 2011. The company went into administration in 2012 due to challenges in the public sector. as well as the impacts of the economic recession of the time. Recently, across the UK, many leading retail chains closed their doors at a high rate of more than 30 stores per day, as the economic depression continued. The UK's public sector has suffered from falling consumer confidence and resulting spending. Some outlets have been placed under receivership as well as administration. Among the most high-profile administrations were retail giants such as Woolworths, Comet and Blockbuster. The high costs of doing business in the UK have also led to the decline and bankruptcy of large companies. A report published by the British Retail Consortium says the overall cost of doing business for high street retail outlets has risen from £96 billion in 2011 to £116 billion since 2006. Although in some cases , rents remained unchanged, or even decreased. , rates increased by 2.8%, at the initiative of the government, adding £175 million to retailers' bills overnight (Wood & Inman et al. 2011). Using retail theories of change to explain the failure of big box stores by assuming they can gain a... middle of paper ......, National Academies Press, Washington, DC. Parker, SC 2011, Entrepreneurship in recession, Edward Elgar Pub., Cheltenham, UK. Available from: . [March 18, 2014].The Guardian. 2012. UK retailers under administration: timeline. [online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/nov/01/uk-retail-collapses-timeline [Accessed: 22 March 2014].Vahie, A & Paswan, A 2006, ' Private label branding: its relationship with store image and national brand”, International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 67-84.Wood, Z, Inman, P & Allen, K 2011,Retailers reeling as shoppers tighten their belts. Available from: . [March 18 2014].