Denby Pottery has officially closed the doors to its final store, ending more than two centuries of trading. The historic homeware brand shut its flagship Derbyshire store on Saturday, August 29, ahead of the planned closure date.
The British institution appointed FRP Advisory as administrators on March 31, following rising energy and labour costs. It subsequently launched closing down sales and cancelled all online orders made through its website in July.
Clearance sale ends early
A closing down sale was launched to remove all stock ahead of the planned closure on Sunday, August 30. However, the sale proved so popular that stock sold "much faster than predicted", leading to the closure of the flagship and all other stores at midday on Saturday.
A spokesperson for FRP Advisory said: "Response to news of the closure from the public has been phenomenal and footfall much higher than expected over the last few days. As a result, stock has sold through much faster than predicted and the remaining stores, including the Pottery Village in Denby will close at midday today instead of tomorrow. Clearly still a lot of love for the brand."
Stores and future ownership
The brand operated stores in Ashford, Braintree, Castleford, Cheshire Oaks, Dalton Park, Denby, Portsmouth and York. A statement on the Denby Pottery website confirmed all stores would be closed by the end of the week ending August 30.
According to administrators, a buyer has been found, although they have not yet been named. In July, it was revealed that TJ Morris-owned Home Bargains was in talks to buy Denby Pottery. Other homeware brands were also attached to the brand, but these were not named.
History and impact
Founded in 1809, Denby Pottery became famed for crafting durable, hand-glazed stoneware using locally sourced Derbyshire clay. The brand also sells overseas, with international subsidiaries in South Korea, the US and China, which were not placed into administration and will continue to trade as normal.
Denby's collapse has been attributed to soaring energy costs affecting the wider ceramics industry. This led to the #savedenby campaign and a petition urging the government to provide pottery manufacturers with extra aid, which garnered 40,000 signatures. A £120 million support package for the ceramics industry was unveiled in May, but it was criticised for coming "too late" as Denby had already entered administration.
