A MAJOR charity shop with over 250 branches is set to close a key high street store in days – leaving locals gutted.
Age UK will close its Silsden store in West Yorkshire at the end of the week, bringing an end to 32 years of trading in the town.
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The owner posted on the Facebook group Silsden Gossip last week: “Just a reminder that the Age UK closing down sale (50%) off starts tomorrow.
“17th of May is our last trading day and we are not accepting further donations from today as we have plenty of stock to still get out.
“It’s very sad and the end of an era for our community but let’s go out with a bang.”
In a separate post on the group Silsden Buzz, the owner thanked locals for their support and donations, adding that they “are no longer accepting donations”.
Read more on charity shops
Locals took to the comments to share their sadness over the charity shop’s closure.
One shopper wrote: “I always loved this shop, both as a customer, and donated, really sad you are closing, such a shame, you will be missed.”
Another commented: “It’s very sad to see you all go, love a little rummage once a week!
“A town without a charity shop is just wrong.
“Thank you for all your hard work over the years and take care.”
A third shopper wrote: “Thank you for taking my donations over the years, you will be sadly missed.”
Age UK is a leading charity dedicated to supporting older people.
It runs a nationwide chain of charity shops to raise funds for its services for older adults.
These stores sell a variety of donated items, including clothing, books, homeware and accessories, with all proceeds going towards the charity’s work.
It comes as Age UK closed its shop in West Bridgford at the end of August.
A post on the branch’s Facebook page reads: “The last day of trading for our West Bridgford shop will be August 30.
“We want to take this opportunity to thank our staff, volunteers, customers for their support and donations.”
We’ve contacted Age UK to confirm the closure.
Reacting to the news on social media, one shopper said: “Have had many a bargain from there, will miss it, its the best one around.”
Another said: “I always love the window displays. They really brighten my day.”
“The best charity shop in West Bridgford!
“Spotlessly clean, lovely staff and great window displays. Sorry to see it go,” said a third shopper.
Age UK also closed one of its charity shops in Dereham’s Yaxham Road back in February.
Why are retailers closing shops?
EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre’s decline.
The Sun’s business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.
In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.
Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open. In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.
The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.
Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead.
Boss Stuart Machin recently said that when it relocated a tired store in Chesterfield to a new big store in a retail park half a mile away, its sales in the area rose by 103 per cent.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Wilko, Debenhams Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Paperchase to name a few.
What’s increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.
