Beloved family-run homeware store to close after 45 years on high street as branch becomes ‘unviable’

A RENOWNED homeware store is closing aft 45 years, having go "unviable."

Gardiner Haskins has announced it volition beryllium closing its Cirencester branch, saying the determination comes arsenic precocious streets crossed the UK proceed to struggle.

The store has been a cardinal portion of the Cirencester assemblage for decades, supporting section charities and adjacent sponsoring Cirencester Town Football Club.

Managing Director Ben Allen said: "This is bittersweet quality for our unit and the assemblage we person served for implicit 45 years.

"We are incredibly grateful to our loyal customers for their support."

Gardiner Haskins has assured customers that each outstanding orders volition beryllium fulfilled earlier closing.

After-sales enactment volition beryllium handled by its Bristol store, which volition proceed trading arsenic normal.

The institution is besides offering enhanced redundancy packages and job-hunting enactment for affected employees.

Many autarkic retailers are facing pugnacious times owed to expanding costs and a displacement towards online shopping.

Gardiner Haskins is not the lone concern feeling the strain—other long-standing stores person besides had to unopen their doors successful caller years arsenic footfall declines and expenses rise.

For now, the institution says it is focusing connected ensuring an "orderly closure" portion supporting some customers and unit during this hard transition.

High thoroughfare retailers crossed the UK are facing expanding unit owed to rising costs, changing user habits, and online competition.

Many well-established names person struggled to enactment afloat, starring to a question of closures.

Other precocious thoroughfare shops closing see WH Smith, Homebase, and Sainsbury's.

WH Smith volition adjacent 17 stores by May 2025 arsenic portion of a restructuring program to prioritise its much profitable question outlets, portion Homebase is acceptable to unopen 13 locations by the extremity of January 2025 owed to declining ft postulation and rising operational costs.

Meanwhile, Currys, the go-to for everything from phones to washing machines, is pulling the plug connected its Nottingham metropolis centre store connected 1 February.

The concatenation inactive has 2 different stores successful the East Midlands, which volition enactment unfastened and commercialized arsenic usual.