Customers in Abingdon News Plus were very sad and sorry to see that Peter Wiblin has decided to close down the shop. Peter used to run the West End Stores and Post Office in Spring Road, then moved the West End Newsagents to the Bury Street Precinct.
More recently as part of the redevelopment of the shopping centre he moved to a smaller premises, and called it Abingdon News Plus. The loss of trade during the redevelopment can not have helped, nor competition from W.H.Smith, but whatever the reasons he has finally decided to call it a day.
Always sad to see places like this one close.
Real shame, it is one of the few places I am happy to park the Dog outside while we go in.
Sorry Peter.
It is always sad to see a fellow independent retailer close in Abingdon. We wish Peter all the best for the future.
@Suzieh, we always welcome customers with dogs to bring them in with them.
What a shame. I still miss the West End Stores. Best wishes Peter from me and my daughter, who has been a devoted consumer of the pick and mix in all three locations.
Another shop closing it comes as no surprise the town is finished . I do not want to read comments about how great Abingdon is blah blah blah unless you are a independant trader and you say business is booming . Peter should be compensated it his business has been ruined by the redevelopment all the independant shops should be given free rent and rates for a year to recover . I have said before everytime one shop closes another closes
People do not realise how sad this can be for a shop owner it is a place of work and a wage and also a way of socialising . We only opened in May 2012 we could of opened in Didcot or Oxford but as we are from Abingdon we thought it was only natural . This year has been very hard a lot harder than we thought it would be we have the shop for a 2yr lease with the option of a break at a year and to be honest we was going to close . Abingdon was asking for a new clothes shop and wanted something different and we try to give what is asked but it has nothing to do with the shops Moody Man the local people love the shops you will hear people on here will be very sad to see petes shop go but people just do not have the money at the moment . You would see people 5 years ago carrying bags of shopping they had spent on their credit cards etc but those days are over the luxuries are gone people are only spending on what they need that is why poundland is popular . Moody man you are dreaming if you think shops will get free rent or rates some shops only got around 10 % reduction while work went on which is pathetic . We closed today as we feel there was no point opening on a Saturday as our shop is very quiet as many people go clothes shopping at weekend to Didcot oxford, Reading some saturdays we do not cover wages . We hope things improve for Abingdon hopefully the new units will open and things will change we will be here until may 2014 but we hope to stay until 2054 but if if sales stay the same may 2014 we will close 🙁 We wish you all the best Peter my children loved your shop as i did good luck .
Businesses close for many reasons and it would be wrong to assume that this business is closing just because Abingdon has gone to the dogs (as moody man suggests).
I’m sure Peter will be spending more time with his family and doing all sorts of things that you can’t do when you need to manage a shop.
Here’s to a happy future for him.
Ybuynu my wife uses your shop and it is just what Abingdon needs my wife has spent money in your shop and also you have given her money with your clothes for cash scheme however i bet you any money you will be closed in 2014 . Rachel I am sure he is not retiring he has moved his shop already and once he moved it into the overated over expensive precinct he is closed . I love to see the independent coffee shops in the town however when wetherspoons muscles there way in and does large coffee for 49p and lunch for around £3,00 it will be game over for them also .
A disaster – Peter was an Abingdon man and was an outspoken fighter for the Town Centre. It’s not his fault that there are so many other outlets for newspapers, or that so many read theirs on-line, or not at all.
Unfortunately, times are changing, paper sales are in freefall and shops like Peters face an uphill battle to stay open. I do feel for him and his family. I hope Abingdonians will continue to spend what they can in the independent shops until things become easier.
However, I think we need to be positive that despite a very difficult recession, people are still investing in Abingdon – Nag’s Head, Broad Face, Weatherspoons and the Old Gaol….which is now 75% sold in phase 1; we should be thankful for this.
Moodymann – you really are moody; aren’t you? Why not move to Didcot if Abingdon is so bad? I hear it’s great down there…….
I am so sorry to hear that….. Why was Smiths allowed into the town when we already had this fabulous independent newagents? I dread to think what damage Sainsburys and Weatherspoons will do to the smaller shops.
I wish you all the best for the future 🙂
@nick i have thought about moving there it has a cinema a theatre a train station tesco sainsburys and loads of parking . Once phase 2 starts on the other end of the broadway which will be home to stores such as debenhams Abingdon and wallingford will be a ghost towns . people in Abingdon shop eleswhere do some research Nick
it’s a free country – how would you propose smiths be stopped from opening a shop?
and to what end?
Sainsburys comes to Abingdon = no more somerfield and co op chemists bookstores etc
Businesses close down for lots of reasons. Blaming it on the redevelopment or bad weather is just an excuse. Shops fail because they can’t compete, that’s just Capitalism!
As for Somerfield or CoOp closing down, that’s not bad thing! They’re rubbish!
Book Store and Chemists will be fine as they can compete on independent footings.
Thank you for all your kind comments.
I can assure you all that I do not give up easily and will still fight the cause
I could give 57 reasons why I’m closing and easy to blame any one of them. Some of them were/ are totally avoidable, i.e. the complete chaos the redevolpment caused.
We do have to positive but we also should be realastic and realise that independents and choice is under threat and that developers are only interested in renting as many sq feet of space as they can at the least cost.
New look is 1billion in debt also Qs/ store 21 has debt collectors in for rent and has shut website . this the end for more shops .
I shall miss Peter; he was a fount of knowledge on all matters precinct-related, plus he was/is a nice chap who was always happy to chat and moan with me!
well done new development you have killed off another shop
Didcot is in South Oxfordshire. So does the Vale’s lack of a Local development plan affect the provision of shopping developments too?
@shell suit SODC and vale are now combined
Re Comment No 11 , Nick I don’t disagree with anything you say , However a number of people with an involvement in the town may assume ( again) your comments are attributed to me. .Could you just put the first letter of your surname behind Nick to distinguish us . No offence taken, you are using a name which is more than can be said for some !
It is a real shame that Peter is not able to sell his business, both for him for the town . Sadly another livelihood lost and for his reliable employee , another job lost . Another vacant unit .
I asked a shop owner who i shall keep nameless how many people they had through the door Friday . They said 2 people all day and nobody bought anything . Are you listening local council also MP and officials you better do something sharpish or you wont have a town to run if we do not have a job neither will you .
Oxford is not much better, The Covered Market/Golden cross, the amount of empty shops there now. A few have moved to smaller empty units in Westgate. (Shakespears Milk Bar as an example).
Any news about the VOWHDC and the 2 hour parking?, I did read a small byeline that they are reviewing it. They are running at a defecit and may cut it/remove it completely.
SODC and VOWH are NOT combined
its a shame another independent is closing, as someone has already commented , most days at the moment we are lucky to get 2 – 3 people in, we have tried to vary our product range many times, stocking American Candy, Old English favorites, gifts, each time either Tesco or Poundland have then stocked the same at less than we can buy for wholesale.
the only way to keep going is to be hopeful that Abingdon will get some big ticket stores to bring more people in but also to start trading online, as we have , this is the way the modern high street will operate in the future.
Good Luck Peter.
Hi everyone
It’s indeed sad to see a person losing his shop.
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@sweet chocolate we are the same it was market day today we had around 5 people through the door around 2:30pm West st Helens car park was half empty . We should protest against rates .
Is there any word on who will be moving into the large units that were built and (as it appears now) at the expense of Peter’s newsagents.
BTW – I always used to use Peters shop when I worked in Abingdon to get my paper/drinks. I now work in Oxford and as a point of context I’m one of two people in an office of 70 who buys a newspaper each day…everyone else just reads on their computer or iPhones!
times change – that’s something that never changes.
i bet abingdon used to have a few blacksmiths.
Does Abingdon have a “Shop local” or similar campaign?
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