The owner of a historic stamp shop in Nottingham says he is saddened - but has no regrets - about its closure after more than 80 years of trading. The Nottingham Stamp Centre, situated across from the Theatre Royal in Wollaton Street, lowered its shutters for the final time on Saturday, July 20.
However, owner Dave Hardy, who took over the shop nine years ago, said sales had fallen dramatically since the pandemic and was unable to commit to a new 10-year lease. “Before the pandemic it was not too bad but I had been losing regular customers," said the 69-year-old."The customer base was nearly all retired so began dying off during Covid. The number of customers going into the shop went down quite dramatically.
"Sales had gone down by a half in five years and it wasn’t enough to cover the total shortfall. It’s sad, but I’m trying to look at it from a positive point of view."