4:00pm Friday 19th March 2010
By Harry Hogger
Ascension Eco Fashion has closed its Dorchester branch in Antelope Walk, just months after opening.
The eco-friendly clothes store only opened its doors at the end of October but shoppers intending to visit the store are now faced with a locked door and a sign informing them that the outlet has closed due to a change of management.
Simone Ruffin, the head of PR and marketing at Ascension, said: “It was always planned as a short term sales channel for us to clear our end-of-line stock from our warehouse.
“As it was such a lovely space, in the lead up to Christmas we chose to include a selection of full price stock as well.
“The Ascension business was sold very recently to a private investor and thus the business strategy has changed somewhat.
“The new management have chosen to focus on building the web business, which continues to be based locally at Milborne St Andrew, and the London flagship store.
“As a result a decision was taken to close the Dorchester shop.”
Ms Ruffin said the Dorchester store had achieved ‘solid’ sales and attracted a ‘loyal following’ but the company was focusing its attentions on its online business.
She said: “We had hoped to keep trading for a while longer to see how sales performed over the summer months, but due to the sale of the company the new management chose to close this store with immediate effect.
“We are genuinely sorry that we couldn’t share this information with our customers and we hope that if they liked our shop they will continue to support us through our online store.”
Project director of the Dorchester Business Improvement District (BID) Phil Gordon said he was ‘disappointed’ to see Ascension close but said it had proved a viable business in the town.
He said: “I am very disappointed but I know it wasn’t because the shop wasn’t doing very well.
“I think it was a change of ownership that forced the decision.
“I don’t think the shop will stay empty for very long as there’s a bit of a queue of people wanting to open a business in Dorchester.”
Peter Noble, the chief executive of the Dorchester Chamber of Commerce, said short-term ‘pop-up shops’ that open and close within a short space of time were becoming more common and he was hoping to discuss the trend with retailers in the town.
He said: “These ‘pop-up shops’ seem to come and go. I think it’s just a symptom of the times.”
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