Fredericks menswear shop in Cleveleys is to close nine months after it was saved by new owners

Fredericks, on Victoria Road West, was bought by husband and wife team Rana and Sami Ranasinghe last year and reopened in June, three months after it had closed.

The pair, who have been running various stalls at Fleetwood Market for several years, were optimistic they could make a success of the high street shop.

Apart from menswear, the shop has been selling ladies clothing and children’s wear – including special occasion outfits.

The pair also kept on staff from the previous set-up. But Rana says footfall has been so low that it became financially untenable to keep the business open.

He has begun a closing down sale at the premises and expects the store to close by the end of April.

Rana said: "It is very sad but we just did not get enough people through the door.

"We have to pay the overheads at the shop and if the money doesn't come in, it becomes impossible to keep going.

"At the moment we have a sale on and will probably close the shop by the end of next month."

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Sign up for our free newsletters now Rana believes people's shopping habits have changed, with more trade being conducted online and people visiting shopping centres less frequently than they used to.

He also said some of his competitors, including those online, were offereing the items so cheaply it was impossible to match them.

He said: "I don't know how they do it, they must buy huge amounts of stock in bulk and get it so cheap they can afford to keep the prices so low.

"It makes me worried about the future of our high streets all over the country.

"I think Covid played a part - the kind of people who would shop at Fredericks got used to shopping online because of the lockdowns, and they ended up going for the cheapest prices they could find."

Rana and Sami will continue to run their stalls in Fleetwood.

Fredericks had been running since 1989 and was a mainstay of Cleveleys shopping centre for decades.

But in 2021 business founder, John Prothero, died aged 73 after a brave three-year battle with Motor Neurone Disease.

Although the business continued with family members, a message posted on the shop’s Facebook page in March last year announced that Fredericks had closed.

Then Rana and Sami stepped in - but sadly the final curtain will down on the business in just a few weeks.

It is expected that a high street bridal wear shop is to move into the premises shortly after Fredericks closes.