Popular town centre card shop in Harborough is to shut after almost 19 years

A popular town centre card shop in Market Harborough is to shut on Saturday (January 22) after almost 19 years.

Clintons Cards is closing its outlet on the High Street after the big national chain failed to hammer out an affordable new lease with the landlord.

But the company, which moved into the premises in July 2003, is hoping to pinpoint and move into a new unit in Market Harborough in the near future.

Four members of staff are facing redundancy when Clintons Cards shuts down at the weekend.

A Clintons spokeswoman said: "We are working hard to secure a new unit in the Market Harborough area, as cost prohibitive lease renewal terms forced us to take the difficult decision to close the current store.

“Our staff have been informed and we have offered to redeploy staff members to local Clintons stores or help them find suitable alternatives.

“In the meantime, we want to ensure the community has a go-to shop for all its greetings card and gifting requirements, so our full product range can be found online at https://www.clintonsretail.com"

The new blow to Market Harborough’s High Street comes just days after nearby women’s fashion and jewellery store Monsoon Accessorize shut last Friday (January 14).

The national retailer employed seven staff.

High-profile London-based clothing, homeware and furniture chain The White Company is now aiming to move into the premises later this year.

A senior member of staff at Monsoon Accessorize thanked the public for their “brilliant support” after being on the High Street for over 10 years.

“We are a profit-making store and we are successful,” the long-serving member of staff told the Harborough Mail.

“So the company is very keen to find another unit in the town that we can move into before too long all being well.

“We are a good fit for Market Harborough.

“And all the stops are being pulled out to make sure that we can open up somewhere else in the town.”

A White Company spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that The White Company will be coming to Market Harborough.”