A Perth children’s clothing shop is to shut due to “challenging trading conditions”.
Kids in the City, on St John Street – which opened in 2016 – will close at some point in late January or early February after selling off remaining stock.
Owner Linda Hodes says people cutting back on spending has had a major impact on trading condtitions.
Shops closing lead to ‘snowball effect’ in Perth
She told The Courier: “The main issues for me are a lack of consumer confidence and declining footfall.
“I think it’s also other businesses closing. The more shops you lose in Perth, the lower the footfall becomes, and the more shops close.
“It’s a bit of a snowball effect.
“I don’t think Perth is unique for shops closing, it seems to be a problem everywhere.
“All you hear in the morning when you turn the TV on is the cost-of-living crisis and I think it scares people – even if you’re in a relatively comfortable position.”
Linda – who plans to step away from business ownership completely – says she is “sad” about the closure and will “really miss” her customers.
She added: “I feel in a sense that I’m kind of letting them down.
“The customers have been absolutely fantastic, they’ve been so lovely.
“I put the Facebook post up (about the closure) last week and the very next morning someone came in with a bouquet of flowers.
“But, on the other side, closing takes away all the stress, so there’s always a positive.
“I’ve got another job lined up and I’ll hopefully be moving on to a more secure future.”
It is the latest in a line of closures affecting Perth city centre, including clothing and lifestyle store Oliver Bonas shutting in November.
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