A MAJOR card chain has lost a store suddenly amid a sting of closures seeing 38 branches gone forever.
Disappointed customers waved goodbye to a much-loved shop on a busy Northamptonshire high street today.
The popular Clintons greetings card store in Bowen Square, Daventry, sadly pulled down the shutters permanently.
It's sudden closure came as a shock to fans as it appeared to shut without warning.
The poster in the shop window read: “We would like to thank all of our wonderful customers for their custom over the years and we will miss being in Daventry.”
Upset locals shared their sadness on social media after the news broke.
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“I asked one of the staff inside what they were doing after the store closes and they told me most of them had been offered jobs in other stores, but they were too far away to travel to," penned one customer on Facebook.
“It’s such a shame for the employees, especially at this time of year. I’m hoping some of the community shops reach out to those left without a job to support them where possible.”
Another fuming resident wrote: "This is why the town is dying as you have to travel outside to get anything.
"Daventry used to be a lovely town to shop in but not now."
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"No way. I love Clintons cards," agreed a third unhappy shopper.
Someone else commented it "is so very sad", while another wrote "just before Christmas too".
"So sad, I'm glad I got few birthday cards last week," said one loyal customer.
It comes as the chain, which currently has 179 shops nationwide and employs 1,400 people, announced it was being forced to close another 38 branches.
The harsh move is necessary to cut costs and stay afloat, according to the firm.
A branch in Kirkcaldy shopping centre already bit the dust earlier this year, as reported by Fife Today.
Meanwhile, a store in Whitehaven, Cumbria, was closed in March and the Bolton's Market Street shop shut down in August.
Clintons has found itself in hot water before, and only just escaped administration years ago when an American company bought the firm.
FUTURE PLANS
The move to close down 38 stores came after restructuring experts, FRP Advisory, and law firm, Jones Day, appeared in an insolvency court across the summer.
They came up with a deal to save thousands of jobs and over one hundred UK stores.
This involved waving goodbye to a selection of shops that were not earning enough money to make them profitable to keep.
Originally, Clintons planned to merge with another struggling stationary brand Paperchase.
However, the firm sadly went into administration at the start of the year.
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Despite losing beloved branches, Clintons continues to battle rivals such as Card Factory, Moonpig and Funky Pigeon.
At its peak, the retailer had 2,500 staff working across 335 shops.
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