Popular clothing store to pull down shutters for final time in...

Popular clothing store to pull down shutters for final time in DAYS with 60% off closing down sale launched

Published on March 26, 2025 at 10:00 AM

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A POPULAR clothing store has revealed the exact date it's closing down – and it's in a matter of days.

Beloved boutique The Loft in Leyland, Lancashire, left locals devastated recently when it announced it was closing for good.

The Loft clothing, gifts, and accessories store storefront. — The shop will shut down later this week

It has now confirmed its shutters will come down on Friday.

In a post on Facebook, the store said: “We are on course for closing our door for the final time at 4pm on Friday.”

The much-loved shop had started out as a tiny stall before expanding to a high street store.

Owner Gill Banks has said there is good reason for shutting up shop – as it marks the beginning of her retirement.

When she first shared the news on social media, she wrote: “It is with a HAPPY heart that we announce the closure of The Loft.

“After 15 amazing years of trading, it is time to hang up the wooden hangers and retire.”

She added: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our customers past and present.

“From a tiny table in Heskin to our bricks and mortar in Leyland.”

Some of the commenters shared their disappointment, with one writing: “I didn't see that coming.”

Another asked: “Where will I buy those brands now?”

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But others made clear they were happy for owner Gill.

“Enjoy your well earned and much deserved retirement and family time now Gill, however, who's going to dress me now!” one said.

Another echoed: “Ahhh happy retirement Gill & congratulations on all you've achieved with your fabulous little shop.”

Customers can now get 60% off all remaining stock in the shop's closing down sale.

The sale will last until Friday at 4pm.

Slat-wall fixtures and patio planters that had decorated the shop are also for sale.

However customers will not be able to use the shop's website to make purchases.

The shop had humble beginnings and started off with Gill selling gloves and scarves from a little table in a countryside barn in 2010.

She later opened up The Loft, which began selling a range of clothing, accessories and footwear for both men and women.

The Loft is the latest local shop to announce it's shutting for good.

Others have lamented high costs and lower customer footfall, saying they have struggled to keep afloat.

Essential Vintage in Ipswich has told followers on social media it will be closing because it has been “priced out” by bigger players in the market like Vinted.

The business also said it was dealing with high costs such as rent and electricity.

The store has launched a 50% off sale to help shift stock before its final trading day.

Meanwhile a historic 109-year-old retailer is closing its doors for the final time.

Salt's tobacconist, which opened in the heart of Coventry in 1916, had survived WW2 – but it says it's struggled with diminished customer footfall in recent years.

It will close down for good on Saturday.

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 halfofcompanies 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, withworse 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.”