A beloved independent shop in the Midlands is set to close its doors forever, with its owner declaring that retail has 'come to the end of its life'. Urban Village, located on Henley-in-Arden High Street, opened in 2020 after moving from its previous premises in Digbeth.
Owner Frankie Johns announced the closure on social media, with July 5 marking the final day of trading. He pledged a closing-down event and confirmed the shop will continue operating online. Johns described retail as 'a bit of a dinosaur' and said the physical closure was 'the right thing to do'.
Owner's statement on social media
In a heartfelt social media post, Johns explained: 'As you know about seven, eight weeks ago, we decided to go to a Saturday only at Urban Village clothing and I did say a lot of reasons and the things that have gone on and different stuff.'
'Basically retail in the UK, it's almost done now and small independent shops like this, we're really struggling. I know a lot of friends who are in business who have had to just pack in and it is so sad but, unfortunately, it is a sign of the times at the moment.'
'Urban Village, as from July 5, will cease being a retail store. We've decided it's not even worth being open on a Saturday anymore. Things are so hard, and I'm sure a lot of you are feeling it out there as well, and I know a lot of companies are doing the same.'
'You'll still be able to get a bit of a pinch of vintage fun from us because we will be continuing to sell online. That seems to be where everyone wants to shop now. We've seen a massive decline over the past two years.'
Criticism of government support
Johns also expressed frustration with government policies, stating: 'I certainly don't think the government's helped us in anyway at all to be honest, but that's another story.'
He added: 'We have decided to go out with a bit of a bang. We've been going a long time and I love all the customers that have supported us. What we're going to do is on July 4 and 5, we're going to have a closing down event. We don't want it to be sad, we want it to be a bit of a celebration.'
'Retail has come to the end of its life. It's a bit of a dinosaur now to be honest with you. And if all the big companies can't do it, I don't know how they expect us little uns to carry on doing it.'
Final celebration planned
Johns invited the community to join the closing event: 'So July 4 and 5, come up here, support us. Clear us out of stock. We're going to be doing such a big sale and we want to go out with a little bit of a bang. We're going to stick a DJ on. We're going to have a little bit of fun and I'm going to say thank you for being here.'
'It is sad, I feel sad at the moment but it's the right thing to do. You know where we are, Henley-in-Arden. Thank you.'
