Planned closure of department store in 2020 is another blow for shoppers in Kent town
Like many towns, Ashford in Kent is trying to reinvent its shopping centre. Where the cattle market once stood, there is now a huge Picturehouse cinema. A group of derelict industrial buildings are to be turned into a food and drink hall and, of course, a trendy brewery is in the works.
Despite its transformation, shops that were once considered mainstays of the British high street are leaving the town. On Friday, Debenhams named 22 of the 50 stores it plans to close as part of its plan to revive the chain. Among the casualties was the Ashford branch.
It means the town has been a dealt a double blow: in January Marks & Spencer announced that Ashford was one of the 31 towns from which it was pulling its store. The M&S will shut up shop next month.
Retired nurse Devi Thangamuthu, 67, was among disheartened customers in the huge Country Square shopping centre store on Friday lunchtime. “It will be really bad to lose yet another one of our big shops,” she said.
Trying on jackets on the shop floor, regular customer Sophia Malik, 34, explained that because Debenhams is also closing its stores in Folkestone and Canterbury, she’s less likely ever to shop with the ailing retailer.
Others, like primary school assistant Susan Woodward, 58, who frequently uses the store’s restaurant, were concerned about the reverberations its closure will have on Ashford. “It’s sad because we lost BHS. We’ve still got Next, but I’m thinking, if this goes, will even more follow?
“It’s all hairdressers and coffee shops and nail bars. People won’t come here to shop – they’ll go to a bigger town like Canterbury instead.”
She may have a point. Despite being saddened by the departure of Debenhams and M&S from her beloved town, Sally Wenham, 61, said she’ll be turning to the cathedral city for shopping instead.
Ashford’s Conservative MP Damian Green described the news as “very disappointing”. On Twitter, he wrote: “We need to redouble efforts to strengthen the town centre.”
Ashford borough council said they would work with the owners of the shopping centre to try to find new occupiers. A spokesperson said shoppers numbers in the town were up: “Footfall in Ashford high street in 2019 is up considerably on last year, and this is the same in the County Square.” They added that they would continue trying “to adapt our town centre offer to reflect local demands and a national changing market, and give residents a reason to visit”.
“While is it sad to see Debenhams go, recently we have seen footfall increasing, and with the new Picturehouse cinema and other developments on the horizon such as the new Brewery and Coachworks [a food and drink hall] opening soon, this shows that the town is moving in the right direction.”
Not everyone is so concerned about the news of Debenhams’ departure – including Woodward’s 20-year-old daughter Katie. “I’m kind of against fast fashion, so I try to shop at charity shops. It doesn’t bother me too much,” she said.
For other young people, the department store had little to offer. “I just go in there to use the spray on the beauty counters,” said Faith Figaro, 17. “I think it’s expensive, to be fair.”
Carrying a Sports Direct bag, Paul Johnson, 63, also has little sympathy for big companies struggling to keep up with customer demands. “I’m wearing full Primarni,” he said, noting that on top of internet shopping, cheap alternatives on the high street mean he rarely frequents department stores. “There’s space there for a Primark now,” he quipped.
The Guardian
Leave a comment