A HIGH street shop will close down after 40 years within just a few days.
Family-owned Sims Footwear said it “can't hang on any longer” as independent stores increasingly struggle to survive.
Paul Lamb, 62, said he will close his last store on April 19 – having outlived all of the other independent shoe retailers in his city.
Over the past two decades his brand has been dotted around Birmingham, but high street stores are finding it harder to cling on.
He also had an accessory shop in New Street Station and a shoe shop on Stephenson Street.
His last shop has been a staple of the Great Western Arcade in the city for the past 25 years, but now it is set to close down.
Paul cited declining footfall and increasing business rates as the reason behind the move.
He told BirminghamWorld: “It’s pointless trying to do what we’ve been doing, we just can’t hang on any longer.”
The 62-year-old said the decline of his business began way back in 2003.
Paul slammed the plight of struggling high street stores, saying “nobody is doing anything”.
He said everyone is “just watching it and hoping it will get better”.
“We’re a small fish in a big sea.”
One of his customers, William Asquith, was devastated to hear the news.
He called Sims Footwear an “awesome store” and remarked it is “another casualty of the tough times on the high street”.
The moves comes amid increasing pressure on independent stores on high streets.
According to the Centre for Retail Research, last year the UK lost 37 shops a day, with 13,500 closing for good in 2024 – a rise of 28 per cent on 2023.
This is expected to stay the same in 2025, with an estimated 17,350 closures and it they expect the vast majority – some 14,660 – to be independent retailers.
Since theCovid pandemic, the number of people splashing out in high street stores has declined, with more people switching to online shopping or cheaper brands instead.
This is a common theme quoted by owners shutting their shops for good.
