End for Wallace King
The saga of over the future of the East Anglian retailer seems to have come to an end with the appointment of administrators.
The retailer's Diss and Cambridge stores have been closed since Good Friday and RSM Tenon has been named as administrator. The company had been dealing with customer enquiries since the stores closed.
'Retailers in this sector have been affected by competition from discount furniture warehouses, and the downturn in the house building industry. There has also been pressure from the fixed costs of retail outlets and increased online shopping. We are holding sales in all the shops to ensure maximum return on stock,' says Nicholas Simmonds, joint-administrator.
Cambridge could suffer the loss of another furniture store following Friday's administration of Clement Joscelyne, which has its flagship store in the town.
Pippa Sandison, a member of the King Street Traders' Association in Cambridge, said it was sad to see Wallace King close.
'There has been a furniture store there on that site for very many years, run by different companies, and now it's gone it leaves a huge gap. It is in a key position at the end of the street, and shops at the other end, which depend on footfall from people walking up there from the city end, will be worried. I hope very much that the shop will be occupied quickly by someone else. We don't want to see empty shops in this area or anywhere else in the city. I suppose it is all down to the fact that people aren't buying bigger items like furniture at the moment.'