A BELOVED retail store is to close after 100 years on the high street – leaving loyal shoppers devastated.
Sowerby’s Shoes first opened in a garden shed in 1925 before moving to Stourbridge town centre.
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The shop’s proud owner, Clive Sowerby, has confirmed that the beloved shop will sadly close its doors for the final time on May 31.
Sowerby’s was established by Will Sowerby in 1925 before Joe and Arthur Sowerby moved the booming business in New Street.
The shop moved to Lower High Street in 1977 and has stayed there ever since.
Despite the sad store closure, Clive, 81, has described his optimism that the business will continue to thrive – but online.
He said: “It’s sad, you’ve got to feel sad, but I’m also confident it’s the right decision.
“I’m looking forward to the future and doing something different.”
Locals were quick to chime in and share their heartbreak over the news.
One customer said: “Thank you for the service you have provided over so many years.”
A second echoed: “You have been a credit to our town and provided a first class service to customers, thank you.”
A third chimed in: “Such a shame another independent shop is going from the town.”
Meanwhile, a fourth said: “One great shop sad to see you go.”
Similarly, last month, Essential Vintage told followers on social that it would be closing down after they had been “priced out” because of bigger players in the market such as Vinted.
Whilst, Red Menswear in Chatham in Medway, Kent, shut for the final time on Saturday, March 29, after selling men’s clothing since 1999.
Shoezone, located on Devonshire Road, has confirmed it’s final day of trading will be May 13.
New Look bosses made the decision to axe nearly 100 branches as they battle challenges linked to Autumn Budget tax changes.
Approximately a quarter of the retailer’s 364 stores are at risk when their leases expire.
This equates to about 91 stores, with a significant impact on New Look’s 8,000-strong workforce.
It’s understood the latest drive to accelerate closures is driven by the upcoming increase in National Insurance contributions for employers.
The move, announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in October, is expected to hit retailers hard – and the British Retail Consortium has predicted these changes will create a £2.3billion bill for the sector.
Meanwhile, the WHSmith brand name looks set to vanish from British high streets after 230 years.
Why are retailers closing stores?
RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
However, additional costs have added further pain to an already struggling sector.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs from April will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: “The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025.”
It comes after almost 170,000 retail workers lost their jobs in 2024.
End-of-year figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research showed the number of job losses spiked amid the collapse of major chains such as Homebase and Ted Baker.
It said its latest analysis showed that a total of 169,395 retail jobs were lost in the 2024 calendar year to date.
This was up 49,990 – an increase of 41.9% – compared with 2023.
It is the highest annual reading since more than 200,000 jobs were lost in 2020 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced retailers to shut their stores during lockdowns.
The centre said 38 major retailers went into administration in 2024, including household names such as Lloyds Pharmacy, Homebase, The Body Shop, Carpetright and Ted Baker.
Around a third of all retail job losses in 2024, 33% or 55,914 in total, resulted from administrations.
Experts have said small high street shops could face a particularly challenging 2025 because of Budget tax and wage changes.
Professor Bamfield has warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
“By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer’s household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020.”
