A BELOVED mum-run baby shop has closed after just one year as the owner told customers “we are forever grateful”
Katie Marie Naum, 28, a mum-of-two and student pharmacist, ran Millie and Mabels in Long Wyre Street, Colchester, selling affordable clothes for toddlers and kids up to ten.
A passionate advocate for second-hand shopping, Katie has helped save over 1,000 garments from landfill[/caption]
Offering affordable clothes for toddlers and kids up to ten years old[/caption]
The shop provided everything from baby bundles and shoes to school uniforms, party wear, and costumes.
Inspired by her own struggles to find budget-friendly outfits for daughters Millie and Mabels, Katie set up the pop-up store in the city centre last year.
However, the business has now closed its doors as she looks for a permanent space.
In the meantime, she plans to continue selling online.
“I am going to try and get online back up and running properly, and we will continue to look for new premises and hopefully reopen in the summer,” Katie said.
Confirming the closure on social media, Katie reassured customers that the pop-up was always meant to be temporary.
She also thanked shoppers for their support.
“Thank you to everyone who has supported our journey,” she wrote. “We are forever grateful and hope to see you soon.”
A passionate advocate for second-hand shopping, Katie has helped save over 1,000 garments from landfill.
She remains committed to promoting sustainable fashion for families and is determined to continue her mission through the online store and a future physical shop.
Retailers across the UK are feeling the squeeze as more shoppers move online, while rising business rates and operational costs take their toll.
According to the Centre for Retail Research, a staggering 13,479 stores shut their doors in 2024 alone – an average of 37 closures per day.
Many of these were due to insolvency, as businesses struggled to cope with financial pressures.
The trend is set to continue into 2025, with major high-street chains like New Look planning to close stores as part of restructuring.
Up to 91 of New Look’s 364 stores are at risk as leases expire, potentially leaving thousands of employees facing uncertainty.
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.”
