‘Such sad news’ as beauty retailer with 177 sites abruptly closes ‘delightful’ town centre shop after a decade

A BEAUTY retailer with 177 sites has abruptly closed a "delightful" town centre shop.

Locals said the closure of the Neal’s Yard Remedies health shop in Dorchester was "such sad news".

The outlet closed on February 3 after serving the Dorset market town for almost a decade.

It sold high-end beauty and health products made at the Neal's Yard factory in nearby Gillingham.

The shop also offered Indian head massages, reflexology, facials, manicures, and pedicures.

Neal's Yard is the latest chain to leave Dorchester - with Clinton's Cards, M&Co and Ambience all shutting up shop since the pandemic.

The town's mayor Alistair Chisholm said: "I'm sorry to hear of another shop closing- it's always sad to see. 

"There have been some fairly profound changes in terms of habits to shopping, especially with online services and next day deliveries. 

"We do have to reinvent the town centre, while also making the most of what we've got - and try and bring in something new and exciting for the town."

Local salon owner Liz Sedwards said: "It’s very sad news that yet another shop in Dorchester has closed down."

It comes after retailers saw the amount of goods they sold drop over Christmas at its fastest rate in three years.

Sales volumes dipped by 3.2% in December, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggested.

This meant that December saw the biggest drop in sales for the retail sector since January 2021, when the country was still under Covid-19 restrictions.

The high street has been hit hard in recent years as shoppers increasingly turn to online retail, a trend made worse by the covid-19 pandemic.

The Centre for Retail Research recently revealed that over 10,000 shops and almost 120,000 retail jobs were lost in 2023.

High energy and wage costs have forced many businesses to shut up shop as well.

Plus, soaring inflation in 2022 and 2023 squeezed households' budgets meaning they had less expendable money and retailers suffered.