Laura Ashley store closes after twelve years in Athlone

The closure of Laura Ashley store in Athlone, which operated here for the last twelve years, has been announced.

At the time of writing it was understood that the store, in Arcadia Retail Park, would be trading for the last time today (Tuesday), with the loss of between 8 and 10 jobs.

The fashion and homewares chain went into liquidation, both in Ireland and in the UK, in April.

"We are very sorry to see Laura Ashley go," Fiachra McLoughlin, Director of Arcadia Retail Park, told the Westmeath Independent on Monday.

"Their store at Arcadia had a lovely range of products and offered great service and shopping experience for homewares and ladies fashion. I think their departure is a loss for retail in Athlone."

He said the closure was particularly unfortunate given that the Arcadia store had been trading well.

There were long queues outside the premises, in line with Covid-19 social distancing guidelines, when it reopened on June 10 last.

"This closure isn't an Athlone-specific decision but is part of the closure of all Laura Ashley branches in the UK and Ireland," said Mr McLoughlin.

"The fact that the new owners of the brand have decided against retaining a physical store network is a sign of the times really – coming from the shift towards online retail.

"The Laura Ashely team really were fantastic to work with and we wish all staff well in all their future endeavours," he said.