Bratts department store in Nantwich is to close for good next month, ending more than 180 years association with the town.
Shocked staff have been told the store on the corner of Pepper Street and Churchyardside will cease trading on December 23.
The owner of the store Tim Gray is due to retire and there are no family members to pass the business on to, it has emerged.
The company’s main operation in Northwich was closed in 2021 with bosses saying all its services would operate from the Nantwich base.
Now the Nantwich store will close with the loss of 10 staff jobs.
It’s the latest blow for the town after the recent closure in September of Barclays Bank in the building next door, on Churchyardside.
Linda Foster, general manager at Bratts in Nantwich, told Nantwich News: “It was a huge shock to us all when the announcement was made.
“Staff understand it is a family business and there are no offspring for the owner to pass it on to.
“Tim is retiring at the end of the year, and that’s the reason for the closure. If there was family to take over, I think we could trade for another 100 years.”
The store has been operating on a skeletal staff of around 10 since it re-opened after the Covid pandemic, down from around 15 staff.
Linda said the sale currently on at the store will increase reductions on its stock to 30%.
The business was hit in 2021 when it had to close it’s main stores in Northwich, making 30 of its 60 staff there redundant.
Some, including Linda, were transferred to the Nantwich store.
“A lot of our customers from Northwich also followed us to Nantwich,” she added.
“Now the word is out many are saying it’s such a shame to lose such an iconic brand associated with Nantwich.
“If someone came along to continue this as a retail operation it would be fabulous, but we do not want to offer false hope.
“The building will be sold, and it’s in a prime position overlooking the town square.
“With the loss of Barclays next door, this whole corner of the town will be empty.”
Linda also praised her team, with all members of staff pledging to continue working until the day it ceases trading.
“They have been very loyal, some like the store manager have been here for 20 years!
“They will have Christmas off and then start to look for new employment.
“The community was bereft in Northwich when we closed down there. It will be the same here.”
The building was originally opened in Nantwich as “Stretch and Harlock” menswear store back in 1835.
The family who owned Bratts, which was opened in Northwich 160 years ago, then bought the Nantwich store in 1971 from the Harlock family.
Henry Bratt passed the business on to his partner Jack Evans and the firm was renamed ‘Bratt & Evans’.
After Bratt’s death, Evans sold the store to John Arthur Gray in 1928, and it has been in the Gray family ever since.
(Images courtesy of Bratts)
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