AN iconic store over a century old will soon close down leaving the owner and customers devastated.
Salts, which is based on New Union Street in Coventry, is shutting down after being established more than 100 years ago in 1916.
Salts on New Union Street will be shutting its doors[/caption]
Founded by Harry Salt, Salts opened on Parkside in 1916 and moved to New Union Street in 1961.
But it is now shutting its doors later this month.
Salts will pull down the shutters for the final time on March 29, owner Mark Kendall confirmed.
It specialises in tobacco and was run by the Salt family before being taken over by Mark in 2019.
Mark, from Coventry, has run Salts for more than five years and said he was “really sad” that the shop would be closing its doors.
He said he took the decision begrudgingly based on a variety of factors including the rise of the illegal tobacco trade.
Mark told CoventryLive: “ “Footfall never came back after COVID, and being in retail is not as nice as it used to be because there are the issues of break-ins and theft and all those things that happen in city centres to retailers.
“Coventry is rife with illegal stuff so the people selling it legally cannot compete.”
Although it is “really sad” to be closing, Mark said he has “loved” his five years at Salts.
He said: “I have loved it! I always wanted to run a shop, so I have really enjoyed it.”
Mark thanked the people who have supported Salts over the years and said they would be sorely missed.
The devastated owner added: “We have had a blast! Thanks for all of the support that we have had from our regulars, they will be missed.”
Customers have recently been reminiscing about “fond memories” of visiting Salts.
Many have recalled going to the city centre with their grandparents many years ago.
One person described the closure as a “huge loss” while another said it was a “sad day” for the town.
Why are retailers closing stores?
Retailers have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
However, additional costs have added further pain to an already struggling sector.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs from April will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
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 half of companies 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, with worse 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.”
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28 per cent increase on the previous year.
Almost 170,000 retail workers lost their jobs in 2024.
End-of-year figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research showed the number of job losses spiked amid the collapse of major chains such as Homebase and Ted Baker.
It said its latest analysis showed that a total of 169,395 retail jobs were lost in the 2024 calendar year to date.
This was up 49,990 – an increase of 41.9% – compared with 2023.
The centre said 38 major retailers went into administration in 2024, including household names such as Lloyds Pharmacy, Homebase, The Body Shop, Carpetright and Ted Baker.
Experts have said small high street shops could face a particularly challenging 2025 because of Budget tax and wage changes.
