High street card shop launches HUGE 50% off closing down sale ahead of bringing the shutters down
OFF THE CARDS
The owner revealed the one thing he will 'miss the most'
A BELOVED card shop has launched a huge closing-down sale with prices slashed by 50 percent.
Special Moments in Norfolk will be rolling down the shutters for good at the end of June.
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Nigel Maistone, who has run the shop for 32 years, decided to retire after the lease was due for renewal.
The shop in Fakenham offers personalised cards, gifts, wrapping paper, and jewellery.
Speaking about his decision against signing a new lease, the 60-year-old said he wanted to spend more time with his family.
He told Eastern Daily Press: "I just want more time with them. I want to travel with them and be more involved in their lives."
"I'm going to miss my customers the most. They have been the best part of this job."
In a bid to clear out his shop, Nigel has thrown a massive sale ahead of closing day.
Customers on Facebook were sad to hear the news, with one writing: "I know you want to do other things but I am so going to miss you x"
Independent shops up and down the country are struggling with rising business rates and increasing pressure on employers.
According to the British Retail Consortium, a mix of higher running costs, tax changes, and increased National Insurance contributions are placing a £2.3 billion burden on the retail sector, pushing more shops off the high street.
Last month's Awful April saw an increase in costs for businesses as the Government's Budget changes came into effect.
They're facing a perfect storm of a rise in employer National Insurance contributions, increased energy and rent costs, and lower customer footfall.
It's meant some retailers have been forced to hike prices and review their stores and expansion plans.
Big-name brands like WHSmith, Sainsbury's, Iceland and The Entertainer are among those that have shuttered stores this year so far.
But it's worth noting that retailers regularly open and close shops for a number of reasons, not just because they are struggling.
This month WHSmith sold off almost 500 of its high street shops after being taken over by Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital.
The WHSmith name is set to disappear from the high street completely, with the brand instead focusing on its shops in travel hubs.
The Oldham branch in Greater Manchester was the first to go on May 3.
The Entertainer might be the UK's biggest toy retailer, but it has shut a number of outlets over the past six months.
Major supermarket Morrisons announced last month it would close 17 of its smaller Daily convenience stores as part of a major shake-up.
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."
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