Beloved homeware store to close after 60 years on the high street as it launches closing down sale

HIGH street shoppers have been left heartbroken after a beloved homeware store announced it will close next week.

The store has been open in Wakefield for over 60 years and has already launched a closing down sale as part of its final days ahead.

The Peter Jones store sits on Little Westgate with its website boasting that the shop has been a Royal Commemorative Specialist since 1963.

Some locals have expressed their dismay having spotted closing down signs in the high street store's windows "for years".

However, the acting director and daughter of Peter Jones, Nicola Cousins, confirmed the date when the store will finally shut up shop.

The go-to place to purchase fine china, gifts and cookware will roll down its shutters on Christmas Eve.

Nicola told the : "Our shop property has finally sold and so, after over 60 years in Wakefield and 39 years in Little Westgate, our era comes to an end.

"It's a sad day for us but independent retail is extremely challenging and it was the right time for us to 'call it a day'.

"We'd like to thank our loyal staff and many thousands of customers who have shopped with us over the years and wish them all the very best for the future."

A string of independent shops have closed down this year, in September we reported how a popular toy store in Fife was shutting up after 40 years of trading.

In October a report claimed a high street revival could be underway due to independent shops - but Budget tax hikes have led several retailers to close stores, cut jobs, and warn of price rises.

More than 70 businesses, including Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s, have told Rachel Reeves in an open letter that the changes announced in the Autumn Budget mean price hikes are a "certainty".

So far, retailers including Greggs, Toby Carvery owner Mitchells and Butler, and Wetherspoon have all warned of price rises.

Last week, the boss of Currys warned price rises will be "inevitable", as it prepares to face £32million in extra costs.

And high streets have seen a downturn in footfall from shoppers who have changed their habits to shop online or at retail parks and shopping centres.

Retailers have been struggling with rising inflation pushing up rents, energy, and products.

Plus many others say business rates make it incredibly hard for a small business to survive on the high street.