The cost of living crisis has forced a business on Ryde High Street to close its doors and go online only just 5 months after it opened.
As previously reported by Island Echo, The Baby Bear Emporium on Ryde High Street opened back in September with hopes it could save parents online-shopping stress.
Specialising in baby clothes, the local business also sells changing bags, baby accessories, toys, swimwear and nursery furniture and had originally planned to expand its wares to include essentials for parents too.
But it has been announced this week that the shop has closed its town centre store and will move its trading online only, citing high energy bills forced by the cost of living crisis as the reason.
However, the news doesn’t rule out a return to the premises once the financial situation has calmed.
The premises housed a baby shop previously when Precious Cargo was at the site, with estate agent Lancasters housed in the building up until June 2022.
All of the products sold in the store are available on the Baby Bear website.
Such a sad sign of the time’s…
Wishing you well .
high energy bills, greedy council business rates, greedy landlord – and that is before any wages
Business rates are not set by the council, they are set by central Government.
The energy bills are the killer at the moment. I also think anyone going into retail on the island should look at starting business some time between March and mid Summer as using less heating will keep bills down and a chance to have a bit more passing trade in warmer weather. Build up a bit of income before Winter. Unless you think you are selling stuff that will shift lot in the run up to Christmas.
It’s also up to us to keep local shops in business, again it might be difficult when a local family run shop is not quite so competitive on price and we have to watch our money these days. But when it is possible, buy local.
Too expensive for most people hardly ever saw anyone in there
Likely they were all having their state paid for spray tans, nails 4″ long glued to their non working fingers, or even longer lashes attached to attract the next womb filling ‘income provider’ for 18 years of child allowance, tax credits and free rent and council tax.
If it failed in Ryde, with the countless buggy pushing over state funded ‘muvers’ it would have failed anyway imo.