Much-loved children’s clothing shop at popular shopping centre announces shock closure after more than 20 years
DEVASTATED shoppers are waving goodbye to a beloved boutique closing after 22 years.
Family-run Little N’s Baby Boutique sadly announced they will be shuttering their site in Dartford, Kent, in just days.
The tragic move was triggered after owner Debra Aldridge discovered a hike in parking fees would double her monthly payments.
She told KentOnline: “I used to pay £16.60 every week – which is approximately £66 a month.
“Around two weeks ago I went to pick the option on the app and it had gone, instead I could only choose a monthly permit of £120.
“I just can’t warrant paying that. I was quite upset and angry.”
It comes as parking prices at The Priory Shopping Centre have soared up to an eye-watering £10 for four hours.
A £400 permit for three months is also available for store owners.
The beloved children’s clothing store has been welcoming customers since 2003 and is renowned for its baby accessories including bibs, blankets and bows.
Mum-of-three Debra and her husband Mark even managed to keep the business going through the Covid pandemic and both work seven days a week.
But new parking charges is not the only battle the couple have been fighting.
They’ve faced increased pressure from online stores and fast-fashion brands, including TikTok shop and Temu.
Debra also argued clientele have been opting for the nearby Bluewater shopping mall which has no parking fees.
Their official closing date is March 23, and all stock must go.
The boutique owner thanked customers for their continued love and support over the years.
“I can’t believe how many people have messaged me asking why we are going,” she explained.
“Many of them say they just don’t come to Dartford anymore or haven’t been in ages – which as a business is not what you want to hear.”
The mum-of-three is now hoping to spend more time with her family, while hubby Mark has taken on a new job at construction firm.
And, this is not the first time The Priory Shopping Centre faced backlash for their new parking charges.
Blue Badge holders previously slammed the decision to take away their free parking.
RETAIL PAIN IN 2025
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: “The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025.”
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
“By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer’s household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020.”
This comes as other retailers, both independent and industry giants, continue to struggle.
Dozens of shops are set to close across the country before the end of the month in the latest blow to UK high streets.
Just a few months in to 2025 and it’s already proving to be another tough year for many major brands.
Rising living costs – which mean shoppers have less cash to burn – and an increase in online shopping has battered retail in recent years.
Just this week former staple of the high street Quiz crashed into administration with the immediate closure of 23 stores.
New Look bosses made the decision to axe nearly 100 branches as they battle challenges linked to Autumn Budget tax changes.
Approximately a quarter of the retailer’s 364 stores are at risk when their leases expire.
This equates to about 91 stores, with a significant impact on New Look’s 8,000-strong workforce.
It’s understood the latest drive to accelerate closures is driven by the upcoming increase in National Insurance contributions for employers.
The move, announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in October, is expected to hit retailers hard – and the British Retail Consortium has predicted these changes will create a £2.3billion bill for the sector.
Meanwhile, the WHSmith brand name looks set to vanish from British high streets after 230 years.
In a fresh update, Boots UK also told The Sun that 253 stores have now shut as part of cost-cutting plans.
And, Homebase launched a big closing down sale as two more stores will shut amid 35 closures this month.
Why are retailers closing shops?
EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre’s decline.
The Sun’s business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.
In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.
Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs from April 2025, will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40.
In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.
The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.
Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Carpetright, Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Paperchase, Ted Baker, The Body Shop, Topshop and Wilko to name a few.
What’s increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.