Two children's stores say a sad farewell to Horsham

Independent children’s clothing store Vacalola shut its shop in Horsham’s Carfax but says it will continue selling on-line.

And children’s toy shop The Entertainer – at Bishops Weald House off West Street – also closed at the weekend. But it too will continue its business on-line.

Vacalola, announcing its closure before Christmas, stated: “We are all going through hard times, individuals, small businesses and big ones. Sadly, small businesses have less of a buffer when something unexpected happens.

"We were hit hard by the pandemic and the increase in prices and import duties but somehow we were able to carry on business. Unfortunately, we have now experienced an unexpected problem with our stockroom which cannot be resolved quickly enough and is no longer suitable for storing our stock.”

Bosses at The Entertainer toy shop spoke of their ‘sadness’ when announcing the store’s closure in November.

Chief operations officer Nick Hargreaves said: “It’s no secret that shopping habits have changed in recent times and it is with great sadness that we have to announce the closure of our Horsham shop, which has been part of the local community for many years.”

He added: “We would like to thank our staff for their incredible service through the years and of course our customers for their loyalty.

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“We’re working closely with our Horsham store team to look at opportunities for them elsewhere in the business.

“The Entertainer has two stores relatively close to Horsham for local shoppers – Crawley and Haywards Heath.”