A popular model shop in High Wycombe has been offered an 'excellent' deal to remain in the town following customer 'depression' at its closure news.
Darryl and Carole Earle, the joint owners of Collectables R Us, announced the closure of its unit in the Eden Shopping Centre last month following "increased rent, decreased customer spending and more and more shoplifting incidents".
However, the pair have now potentially found a new venue in the town, allowing them to continue serving their loyal customer base.
In a statement issued today (April 12), Darryl and Carole said they are currently negotiating with Buckinghamshire Council for the use of an "excellent" new unit at 16 Church Street, opposite the Wycombe Food Hub in the town centre.
They said their acceptance of the new site was dependent on factors including the level of support they would be able to generate for helping with the move and the costs of hiring plumbers, carpenters and electricians to carry out significant interior work.
Darryl and Carole told customers that they had taken the tough decision to close Collectables R Us at the beginning of March after concluding that it was simply "not viable" to continue trading in the Eden Shopping Centre.
Speaking to the Free Press last autumn, Darryl said he thought shoplifting was a major issue in Wycombe, with police intervention tending to “work in favour of shoplifters instead of retailers”.
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Collectables R Us’s closure came amid a raft of departures from the Eden Centre including that of popular toy shop Toys UK, fast fashion chain Zara and The Body Shop.
However, the company has continued to trade online and its co-owners recently thanked customers for their “wonderful” outpouring of support following last month’s announcement.
They said: “We’ve had upset children, a gentleman that calls our shop his ‘happy place’ and (spoken to) a number of our special needs customers who visit daily for a friendly chat (and) are now on the brink of depression (at) the thought of us not being here.”
Collectables R Us will have its last day of trading in the Eden Shopping Centre on Saturday, April 27.
Discounts of up to 50 per cent are up for grabs in the meantime on a number of collector items including train sets, model cars and Scalextric sets.
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