Closing Down
This weekend we announced that we're closing down our brick & mortar store based in Dudley, West Midlands. We received so many lovely messages, with people expressing their sadness at our closing and wishing us luck for the future. And then there was this:
We don't usually let the small stuff get to us but this comment needed to be addressed more thoroughly and for us to be more transparent on why we've decided to close.
If, like this person, you've been living under a rock, you may not be aware that the economy is awful at the moment. That's not just for us, that's for the whole country. Heck, at the mo it's the entire world. You may not be local to Dudley so we will fill you in on some of the reasons behind our decision.
We picked up the keys for the shop the day before the first Covid lockdown. Our first hurdle, but in the grand scheme of things a very small one. We used that time to get ready for our grand opening. Footfall in Dudley had already fallen massively since Merry Hill was built and they offered free parking. We still decided that Dudley was one of the better High Streets in the area and that's why we chose to open here. Things were steady, we did very well especially in the run up to Christmas. Even when we had the next few lockdowns, things looked bad but we fought through.
The next major hurdle for us was the bus station closing in January 2024. Suddenly all the footfall we got from people passing through the center from the bus station plummeted. Footfall fell 46% compared to the previous year. October 2023 we mixed things up by including the collectibles so we weren't too badly affected by the closure, we had good online sales.
October 2024 saw the introduction of the parking charges. People now had to pay almost £2 for the pleasure of visiting Dudley for an hour. This had a big affect and footfall was down 35% compared to the previous year. But again, Christmas was fast approaching, our online presence was holding strong.
The traders in the town were told the new Tram would be completed December 2024. And then that was postponed to December 2025 and again now until sometime 2026. We heard rumours that it was highly likely it would be closer to 2027 than what we were being told. We kept hopeful. The new bus station and tram route will be an easy way for people to start shopping in Dudley again and we could see the benefits. But with every shift of that goal post we began to become less and less positive.
April 2025 saw the increase in minimum wage, which made it harder for small businesses, as it added even more costs. For some reason the Powers That Be seemed to think now was also the perfect time to up Business Rates. Where, for the last however many years, we were only paying 40% due to covid etc, they suddenly decided that this year they expected businesses to pay 75%. Quite a big jump on top of the already increasing costs. Then different Powers That Be decided that it was also the perfect time to up their costs. Keeping in mind footfall was down 30-50% for a lot of retailers in Dudley, rents and charges went up. Now, I don't pretend to be a skilled mathematician but falling footfall does not equal higher rents to me. We found we were expected to pay an estimated £600 per month to pay for these.
We discovered the hard way that going above and beyond to try and help bolster footfall to the center was unappreciated. Almost every event held within the center was down to our planning. We organised them all and usually out of our own pocket. We designed every poster. We paid to advertise it. We marketed it as much as we could. We didn't mind as it boosted morale and helped increase customers, both for us and the other shops in the center. Every Christmas we put on a grotto for the kids. It started just after lockdown, when many visits to Santa had been canceled due to social distancing. We offered these free of charge, only asking for donations towards our chosen charity at the time. Each child had a visit with Santa and a goody bag, all out of our own pocket. Again, we loved doing it because it helped the center out. We loved seeing the children grow up with us and it added a little something special that Santa remembered the child from the year before. But after years of doing these things we were shown that none of that mattered to the Powers That Be.
If we're being transparent, we can afford all these extra costs. But for us now it's the principle of the matter. We can't abide by the greed shown by the Powers That Be, by the lack of loyalty shown to the shop owners, some of which have traded in Dudley for 30 odd years. So, yes, we do blame the government. We blame the landlords and the councilors. The important people that never listen to what people actually want from a town. Where budgets are being cut left, right and center. Its devastating to see the decline that is Dudley, a town that has a blooming castle at the top of the high street for fuck sake! How many towns can say that?
With everything going on in Dudley, with every hurdle thrown at the town, you can't help but get the impression the Powers That Be are personally trying to destroy Dudley. But that's a story for a different day...