Seasalt’s Guernsey store one of three it is closing
SEASALT is shutting its Guernsey clothes store.
A window notice reads ‘a fond farewell to our friends in Guernsey. We will be closing our doors from 8 March. Please stay in touch.’
Stores in Devon and Somerset are also closing despite the Falmouth-headquartered firm making £2.5m. gross profit and enjoying a bumper Christmas.
‘In the case of Commercial Arcade, St Peter Port, after a long period of trying different options, we have had to make the difficult decision to cease trading through our store. Our priority now is to support affected colleagues,’ a Seasalt spokesman said.
‘We would like to make clear that this decision is not a reflection of the hard work of the team, and we appreciate it is a difficult time for them.’
Employees in England are in consultation to move to other Seasalt branches where possible.
Six people were employed at the Guernsey branch.
Answers were not given to whether rent or shipping prices were too high, nor if the store is likely to reopen here at a later date.
‘This decision was made after a review of Seasalt stores,’ the spokesman said, ‘it was incredibly tricky to make this decision. We tried in lots of ways to uplift the store but it did not go as expected.’
Seasalt reviewed sales online and in-store to make the most relevant products available to Guernsey customers.
In comparison to other retailers Seasalt is a successful company which continues to grow despite shoppers shifting online.
It received £16m. investment from Santander and BGF in 2018 to ensure growth and reportedly has total assets worth more than £32m.
The investment money was to go towards opening 40 new stores.
Disappointment was expressed by regular Guernsey shoppers.
One of them, Anna Williams, said on social media: ‘Why on earth are you closing your store in Guernsey? We already have limited options for shopping and your shop was one of the few that offered good quality clothes in larger size. So disappointed.’
