'It is very difficult for us': Family-run Halesowen clothes shop to shut after 144 years

Assistant manager Dave Dancer said he had hoped to take over the running of the business from his father Mike Dancer and aunt Janet Duerden. But he said tough retail conditions meant this would not be possible.

"We wanted to make sure it would be done on our own terms in an orderly fashion, so my aunt and my dad can retire properly," he said.

"It is very difficult for us, it is very sentimental. Some of our staff have been here for 27 years, so we wanted to make sure it was done properly, so that they would all be all right."

Mr Dancer, 37, said the company would continue to supply schoolwear over the internet for the foreseeable future.

The business has passed through five generations of the Dancer family, since it was founded as John Dancer's shoe and bootmaker in 1880, part of a row of shops in Lye High Street owned by the Dancer family.

Four years later, John and his wife Sarah moved to a lock-up shop in High Street, Halesowen, and business did so well that they were able to purchase a plot of land on the corner of Peckingham Street and Hagley Road, Halesowen, and build a three-storey shop on the site.

Branches in Ludlow, Kidderminster, Cradley Heath, Bromsgrove and Tenbury Wells followed.

The business passed, first, to John's son Wilfred, and then through his son Wesley who was born above the shop in 1913. As the years progressed, the shop began to transition away from boots and towards the sale of both men's and women's clothing. In the 1950s, Wesley spotted a gap in the market for men's suit hire, and Dancer's became one of the first shops in the country to offer what would become a major growth area over the decades that followed.

During the late 1960s, Halesowen was undergoing major redevelopment, and Wesley decided that rather than be left behind, it was time for Dancers to get new premises too. He moved to a temporary shop at the top of Peckingham Street, while the old shop was demolished and a new one built in its place. The new Dancers opened on May 1, 1968.

Mike Dancer, now 76, began working at the shop on part-time basis in the early 1960s, and was in charge of the day-to-day running by 1980.

Recently he spoke of his desire to see the business thrive for future generations.

"We have survived two world wars, various depressions and recessions and with our ‘can do’ ethos which has been passed down through generations, we will continue for generations to come," he said.

But Dave Dancer said people's shopping habits had changed considerably since the coronavirus lockdown.

"It was changing before Covid, but Covid escalated this," he said.

"People are going online more, and we find it hard to compete with online sales."

A statement from the Dancer family said: "It was a difficult decision to take after 144 years of trading as well as our association with the town of Halesowen, especially as it has been in the Dancer family for five generations.

"However for various reasons, we as a family cannot feasibly keep the business going as it is."

The statement thanked staff and customers, both past and present

"If not for you, we would not have traded for the last 144 years," the statement added.

"And thank you very much to the community of Halesowen for all your support."