THORNBURY has lost a shop that has been in the town for nearly 40 years, with a cafe and another shop owned by national chains set to follow.
Holland & Barrett in the St Mary Centre first opened in the town back in 1987.
But it shut, with the loss of two jobs, in September – and will be joined in October by Costa Coffee, which is closing its cafe on the High Street.
TGJones, the stationery chain set up when WH Smith sold its high street stores last year, is also set to close its Thornbury branch early next year. The closure is part of a restructuring plan which will see owner Modella Capital shut a third of its 450 branches across the country.
A Holland & Barrett spokesperson said the store’s closure was part of an ongoing £70 million “transformation” programme for the business.
The spokesperson said: “Over the past three years, we have continued to adapt to changing shopping patterns and evolving high streets.
“These changes form part of Holland & Barrett’s wider transformation to support long-term, sustainable growth.
“We recognise the impact some of the store transformation decisions may have on colleagues.
“Our priority is to retain colleagues within the business and we are working closely with the small number affected to explore redeployment opportunities wherever possible.”
Parking charges ‘don’t help’
A former Holland & Barrett staff member believes the introduction of the parking charges has been one of the factors in the store’s closure.
The long-serving former employee, who asked not to be named, said: “I’m not surprised the way the High Street is going, and parking doesn’t help.
“It’s just a different way of shopping now. The parking charges have changed the pattern of the way people shop.
“We have lost a few of the more frequent visitors.
“A lot of regulars used to just pop in a few times a week, but we have lost the frequency of shopping.”
Costa Coffee said its high street café will close on October 28.
A spokesperson said: “We would like to thank our customers and store team for their support over the years.
“We are working closely with our talented team of baristas to support redeployment opportunities where possible.”
Restructuring
Thornbury’s TGJones store in the St Mary Centre will close on January 9 next year, the company has confirmed. Closing down sale posters have been put up in the windows of the store, which opened as a WH Smith branch 15 years ago.
A TGJones spokesperson said: “As we work to secure the long-term future of TGJones, we have confirmed that our Thornbury shop will close.
“We know this will be disappointing news for our colleagues, customers, and the local community. Our focus now is on supporting those affected and continuing to serve customers throughout the closure period.
“We would like to thank all of our colleagues for their commitment and the contribution they have made to TGJones.”
The company would not confirm how many people work at the shop or whether any would be offered jobs elsewhere in the business when the store shuts.
Meanwhile the Co-op says that rumours circulating on social media that it is planning to close its High Street store are “factually incorrect”.