Mothercare store closes in Southend On Sea
Thu, 6th Oct 2011Article by ECHO NEWS
SOUTHEND’S Mothercare store will close its doors for the final time next week.
After more than three decades of trading, the High Street store will shut on October 13 following weeks of speculation about its future.
It will be replaced by a giant Poundworld shop, which will also take over the empty neighbouring store, but the announcement has been met with despair by regular customers.
Shamille Harris, 27, from Southend, uses the shop frequently to buy clothes and supplies for her two young children.
She said: “There is nowhere else in Southend which could replace it. It is the only place with the stuff I need.
“It will be awful when it shuts. My mother used to take me there when I was a child.
“It has been there for years.”
Lindi Evans, 24, of Whitegate Road, Southend, added: “I will be very upset.
“It’s the only place in the town centre which has all the baby things. I can’t drive, so I need somewhere I can get to by walking.”
Earlier this month, the Echo revealed budget retailer Poundworld had submitted a planning application to open a new store in the former Mad House clothes store, at the corner of the High Street and Clifftown Road.
The new Poundworld store will also include Mothercare.
The announcement that Mothercare is to close means the nearest branch for Southend shoppers will now be the store in the Mayflower retail park in Basildon.
A Mothercare spokesman said: “The closure of this store is in line with our current portfolio plan.
“We hope this has not upset any customers and that they will continue to shop at our store in Basildon.”
No one from Poundworld was available for comment.
By Steve Hackwell Echo News
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