A popular town centre store, The Party Shop in Mold, North Wales (UK), will be closing its doors for the final time at the end of January following a drop in trade over the last 12 months.
The shop has been running for almost 20 years, and has been owned and managed by Katy Duplock for the last seven. Katy puts the drop in sales down to the increasing pressure felt across the high street as a result of the rise of online shopping.
According to Katy, business has become more difficult over recent years due to a combination of factors, but the main one was being competition with the internet.
Describing the change in trade at The Party Shop, which offers balloons, decor, partyware and fancy dress, she explained: “When I first took over we needed at least two people in the shop, especially on market day. It was constantly busy. Then all of a sudden everything changed.”
She continued; “Road works, parking charges, the credit crunch.. it was just a bit of everything and you could see a change on the high street. Then the internet became more popular. It wasn’t just the younger generation – everyone would come into the shop and be comparing prices online. It was just a natural progression into the internet world and we became more of a backup shop if it didn’t arrive in time from the internet.”
“It has been very difficult over the last year,” said Katy. “It has been a lot quieter and we have had to decrease our staff. Halloween is usually our big business and we have noticed a big change. We were still busy but they used to be queuing outside the doors.”
Miss Duplock said she is very grateful for the support of her regulars and revealed that the store is now holding a half price sale ahead of its closure.
