Independent Cambs business fears closure after just nine months

The manager of an independent business in Cambridgeshire said she fears it may have to close – just nine months after opening. Angela Fowles, 52, said McPops Party and Gift Shop in St Neots was struggling due to its location.

The shop sells party supplies including cards, tableware, badges, and balloons. It also offers a personalisation service.

Miss Fowles said the shop was struggling with footfall. She said: “We’re tucked away in the Market Square down a little alleyway and we just can’t get the people in.

“We’ve advertised, we’ve got boards outside, we’ve got a board up the other end of town. When people come in, they say, ‘what a lovely little shop’.”

The shop opened in November 2022 after being delayed from a planned opening in June. Miss Fowles said it was a ‘stressful’ time to be opening a business.

Miss Fowles said she had hoped the shop would move onto the high street in a few years after benefitting from lower rent at its current location. “I’m hoping to get a lot more customers in,” she said.

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References

1. ^{^} Popular Cambridge café closes ‘with great sadness’ after nine years (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
2. ^{^} You can also sign up to our dedicated Peterborough, Traffic and Crime newsletters for the latest updates on the topics you are most interested in. (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)