CONFIDENTIAL can confirm three major retailers are closing their King Street branches – two of which are packing up as we speak.
Timberland closed its doors on Wednesday 23 January after over a decade of trade in the city centre. Sales associate Gerard Miley, who has worked in the store for four years, believes years of poor footfall served as a warning sign.
Management took the decision not to renew the lease on the landmark 1902 building. Notably the building has not been empty in 110 years - until now.
He said: "We think it’s the expensive rates and the fact the footfall isn’t as good as it used to be. Obviously over Christmas it was busy but even weekends were never as busy as they were say two years ago."
It’s not a total loss of the brand for the city as the Trafford Centre Timberland store continues to thrive, however it does raise more alarm bells for King Street’s slow burning demise.
Gerard added: "The Trafford Centre store is definitely staying open, but unfortunately the King Street staff are being made redundant. We found that out a little over two weeks ago."
Another retailer admitting defeat is Monsoon. The branch will close its King Street shop on Saturday 16 March after management took the decision not to renew the lease on the landmark 1902 building. Notably the building has not been empty in 110 years - until now.
Monsoon, King Street. Image from Manchesterhistory.net
Jacinta McDonough, store manager Monsoon, King Street said: "The lease is up on the store and they don’t want to renew it because they’ve got two other city centre stores. The rent is high here and the other store in the Arndale is the big flagship, so this is what the business has decided to do. Staff here will be re-deployed."
The third King Street shop scheduled to leave town for good is the relatively new Aubin & Wills, which opened in summer of 2011. The closure on Sunday 27 January however, has come about as part of the overall closure of the brand.
Erin, store manager at Aubin & Wills, King Street said: "Jack Wills Ltd is focusing on the growth of the Jack Wills brand only – Aubin & Wills’ sister company. It’s nothing to do with location, it’s the brand as a whole that’s going."
But that’s still two too many leaving for the wrong reasons as far as Confidential’s concerned. Four years on from editor Jonathan Schofield's article on The Death Of King Street, it would appear little has changed to turn it around.
Vaughan Allen head of City Co city centre management said: "We're seeing a number of closures where chains have multiple stores in the city. Monsoon has at least another three and Timberland at least one. In the current climate, all national chains are looking to rationalise the number of units they run.
"Over the whole city, retail continues to thrive. Arndale has reported record figures and new retail areas are (or will be) opening up in places like NoMa (the redevelopment area of the Cooperative). One of the reasons the retailers across the city centre (including on King Street) have come together to form the city's first Business Improvement District is to help develop activity that continues to attract people to the city centre."
Aubin & Wills, King Street
With the once expensive and exclusive appeal gone in favour of more mainstream brands but with rates that don’t match up, not to mention the ongoing pricey parking debate, King Street's still not doing itself any favours.
It's ok for CityCo to look at the big picture and emphasise the positives - that's only natural for the city centre management company. But for King Street maybe it’s time to zoom in, before it’s blurred out for good.
King Street should be one of the most pleasant places to shop in the North West not run down and unappealing.
Follow Lynda on Twitter @lyndamoyo
