A BELOVED high street staple has confirmed it will be shutting its doors for good after almost 100 years in business.
Family-run furniture store Pargeter’s Furniture in Stourbridge will be shutting up shop when all stock has been sold.
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The owner of John Pargeter & Sons Ltd confirmed that it is “time to close”.
Miles Pargeter announced the sad news as he prepares to retire.
With no younger relatives ready to take over, the fate of the shop has been sealed.
The 66-year-old said: “We have not run out of business, but like all good things, it must come to an end.”
“It’s sad, but things change, and we have survived better than most.”
Miles took over from his father 45 years ago and in that time has barely had a Saturday off.
In announcing the closure, the shop owner thanked loyal customers in the local area, reiterating that the business continues to be successful.
“Stourbridge is a thriving community town,” he said.
“It has a bright future ahead of it.”
Pargeter’s Furniture has been a staple of the high street since 1926.
The site has now been sold on to developers who will divide it into three units, according to Stourbridge News.
Meanwhile, Derby city centre is also losing a staple furniture store.
Lee Longlands will be shutting up shop after 12 years after confirming that it will not renew its lease.
Instead, the furniture firm is planning to relocate to a new, purpose-built showroom at a prominent retail park.
In preparation for the move, Lee Longlands is hosting a huge “everything must go” sale, offering £2 million worth of stock at heavily discounted prices.
And craft lovers could also be disappointed as Hobbycraft calls in advisers with “shops at risk”.
The craft chain with 124 stores and over 2,000 employees is looking to restructure its business.
Hobbycraft’s parent company Modella Capital has hired the services of firm FRP to look at potential options, including a company voluntary arrangement (CVA).
CVAs are often used in the retail and hospitality sector to allow store closures and rent cuts from landlords.
Restaurants are also feeling the pinch with a beloved pizzeria announcing closure due to soaring costs.
RETAIL PAIN IN 2025
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
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.”
Professor Bamfield has also 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.”
