Another Stafford shop bites the dust

Another Stafford shop has fallen victim to the recession in a further blow for independent retailers in the town.

Moments giftshop will be closing its doors for the last time tomorrow and selling off all its remaining stock.

The upmarket Salter Street store, which sells watches, jewellery, hats and wedding items, has been in Stafford for almost 10 years and is owned by Margaret Blakey.

She said she decided to close as her lease runs out next month and she couldn’t justify running the shop any more after a downturn in trade. But Mrs Blakey said the slump had been a long-term one rather than a consequence of the current economic gloom.

She said: “Trade is definitely not what it used to be - there’s been a positive decline for three years. It’s not just this year - ask any independent trader. From one year to the next the figures have just gone down and down.

“I fought it and fought it - my staff have been superb and they’ve come up with lots of different ideas. We’ve tried everything but now I’ve had to give in. It was a great pleasure to serve the people of Stafford but enough is enough.

“You get the customers in the shop but they just haven’t got the disposable income. The cost of living has gone up and up but wages have remained the same.”

Some of the goods stocked in Moments will now be sold in Mrs Blakey’s other shop, Knits and Kneedles on North Walls, which she said is more secure due to repeat trade. She added: “I’ve got an escape route but I feel sorry for those that haven’t.” Mrs Blakey said she wants to “go out on a high” with a huge sale tomorrow to mark the shop’s last day.

However, just around the corner from Moments, five new shop units in the town centre are nearing completion.

Stafford commercial property agents Millar Sandy are seeking tenants for the shops in the former Courts furniture store at the the junction of Malt Mill Lane and Salter Street. The Malt Mill scheme also involves 22 apartments on the two floors above. The ground floor has been converted to create the shops of 800sq ft, 895sq ft and 990sq ft and the annual rental for the shop units will be between £15,000 and £25,000.