Legendary 120-year-old store to shut its doors as it launches closing down sale
The shop has been branded 'a piece of history'
A 120-YEAR-OLD shop has announced it will be closing, much to the dismay of loyal customers.
After running for over a century, the independent footwear retailer is finally selling up.
Friary Shoes in Lichfield, Staffordshire, has advertised a closing down sale applying to all of its remaining stock.
Footwear prices will be slashed along with the fixtures and fittings – chairs, stools, mirrors, filing cabinets and ladders all have to go.
A spokesperson for the store said: “A massive thank you to everyone who has popped in over the past week to wish us well.
“It’s been such an emotional period for us – but the love we have received has been overwhelming and we are so, so grateful.”
Today the retailers shared the closing down sale on Facebook, stating it was the last day to nab “crazy prices” with adult shoes selling for £25 and children’s shoes priced at £10.”
Shoppes are gutted to see the store go and many have taken social media to express their disappointment.
One concerned customer wrote: “So sad to see this lovely shop go.
“Our grandson was really sad yesterday when we walked in and saw the fixtures and fittings being sold.”
Another left a heartfelt comment saying: “You will be missed by everyone who was a regular customer.
“Thank you for introducing me to so many brands of footwear.
“I personally will miss you dreadfully.”
One woman who used to visit the store as a child shared an emotional message, calling the longstanding store “a piece of history.”
She said: “As a fairly regular customer for my child and also his first shoes, and a former Friary Shoes Ltd child myself with my mum back in the 80s it was sad to come in and see what has had to happen this week.
“I did purchase three more pairs of shoes for my son ready for his next size in your sale yesterday.
“We will miss you very much and thank you for your services.”
“A piece of history.”
For anyone who wants to bag a bargain, Friary Shoes is open from 10am to 5pm Wednesday to Saturday in the Three Spires Shopping Centre.
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.”