The owners of a shop that is to shut just five months after opening have explained the reasons behind their decision.
YorkMix reported last week that Menkind will leave Coney Street in York on 27 February. It only opened in October, when the owners of the shop, Helmsley Group, hailed its arrival alongside the neighbouring American Candy Company “a brilliant boost for the city centre”.
Today a spokesperson for Menkind said there were two key reasons why it is going – high York rates and low footfall.
“The store was occupied on a short term lease under our Christmas Pop -Up programme enabling us to bring a unique selection of gifts and gadgets to customers just in time for Christmas shopping,” the spokesperson told YorkMix.
“We were hopeful that we would be able to stay on a more permanent basis as York is a great city, but unfortunately footfall in the town is still very far below pre-pandemic levels.
“And, although the landlords have been really supportive, the business rates in the town remain very high which has meant we are unable to remain in this store.”
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But the shop could make a return.
The spokesperson said: “We hope we’ll be back with a pop-up again this Christmas in York centre, but in the meantime, our Menkind store in the York Designer Outlet centre remains open, and we also have an exciting range of gifts and gadgets available to buy online at menkind.co.uk.”