Furniture shop leaves Wolverhampton city centre after 102 years
A family business which has traded in Wolverhampton city centre for more than 100 years has shut up shop and moved.
Upholstery and furniture specialist E Marsh has been part of the city centre landscape since 1913, with five generations of the family overseeing its development through the years.
Co-owner Keith Marsh, who runs the business with his brother Barry, had previously said the long-running roadworks outside the Princess Street store had damaged trade 'past breaking point', forcing the company to move.
It has now opened a new showroom in Pountney Street, off Dudley Road, Wolverhampton. Now furniture, including chairs, tables and sofas have been emptied from the store and Mr Marsh said he is looking ahead to an 'extremely positive' future.
He said he believes the move will help secure the long-term future of his business.
He said: "Obviously we are sad to be leaving. The city centre holds a lot of happy memories for us and we have built up great relationships with our customers.
"However, this is the right move at the right time for us. We are feeling extremely positive. I think this move will secure our long-term future and that is what we have to think about at the moment.
"There were a lot of factors that led us to make this decision, it wasn't just the roadworks. Foot traffic in the city centre is massively reducing, there are constantly issues with parking and then you have the Midland Metro work.
"If you would have told me five years ago we would be moving out of the city centre, I wouldn't have believed it."
Sales administrator Wendy Marsh, who is married to Keith,
said: "I do feel sad when I think of all of the people who we have come to know and deal with in our time here.
"Now we are looking to the future and we will continue to provide the same quality service our customers have come to expect from us over the years."
The company has already made its first sale from the new showroom before leaving the old property.
