Shaws the Drapers enters liquidation after 106 years

A family-owned business with 28 shops in Wales and England has gone into liquidation.

Staff at Shaws the Draper, which sold curtains and home goods, have received an email confirming the closure of the 106-year-old business.

In the message owner Philip Shaw said the business had hoped to restructure after a "challenging year", but decided it was no longer viable.

About 150 staff are believed to be affected.

Shaws has been a fixture on many high streets for decades after opening its first store in Wales in 1916.

Liquidators said the company had been placed into voluntary liquidation and had formally ceased trading on 23 December.

It has 28 stores listed on its website, with 15 in Wales, and another 13 in the south-west of England and the west Midlands.

Jan Holmes, 64, who worked at the Bridgend store, said staff were visited by Mr Shaw but he was unable to confirm what would happen to their jobs.

"We knew it was coming but it's still a shock," Ms Holmes said.

"The week before Christmas, on the Monday, we got a phone call asking us to close the shop within the hour.

"We had to ask customers to make their final purchase and we shut up shop. It was upsetting for everyone, for us and the customers."

"It's the end of an era," she said.

Ms Holmes, who worked at Shaws since August, previously ran a gift shop in Pencoed, Bridgend county, which closed after the pandemic.

"I feel sorry for everyone involved," she said. "It's another business gone from the high street, it's a shame."

Ms Holmes said she was going to make the best of the holidays and start looking for work in the new year.

In the email Shaws said staff would be paid in full until 24 December and an insolvency company would contact them in the coming days to discuss redundancy settlements.

Stones & Co, of Swansea, has been instructed by Shaws and approached for comment.

Shaws said in its email it wanted to support staff in finding new jobs and thanked them for their service.

"After 100 years of trading, this hasn't been an easy decision for us to make, and we fully appreciate the consequences for you, but the business simply is not viable and we cannot see a way of making it so," it said.

A spokesman said a valuer had been appointed to assess the worth of the company's assets.

"It is understood that all of the former employees of the company have been paid their outstanding wages and holiday pay," they added.

"Those ex-employees entitled to redundancy pay and/or pay in lieu of notice will have such claims dealt with by the Redundancy Payments Service."