A FAMILY business which has been providing well-dressed South Yorkshire ladies with their special occasions gladrags for 77 years is being forced to close for good because of the credit crunch.
The Madame Florence boutique at Montagu Square, Mexborough, is being forced into shutting as a result of the current economic climate.
As other similar businesses in the area have also been pushed into closure, it has struggled against competition
from their stock clearance sales, and lost a lot of its customer base following the death of its former director Yvonne Gibbs in 2006.
The lease on the current premises is also due to expire, and the final decision to close was eventually made last week.
The business was founded by seamstress Florence Squires in 1932, the grandmother of the current director Chris Gibbs.
It was passed down to his mother Yvonne, before being transferred to him when she died.
Special occasion wear has always been the store's speciality - from made-to-measure items in the early days through to a department store style in larger premises further down the line.
In more recent years the emphasis has been on mother-of-the-bride outfits, and the store has also re-established its bridal section over the past year.
The decision to close means a lot of current and next season stock will have to be sold off, and will leave five members of staff out of work.
Chris said: "We want to thank everyone for their support over the years, and to ask them to support us now and help us clear off our stock.
"We are obviously feeling very sad at the closure of a long-established family business, but at the end of the day sentimentality does not pay the bills.
"The time has come - a lot of places are feeling the pinch, and we just cannot carry on like this unfortunately."
The shop will close on Saturday August 30.
Got a view? Add your comment below.Buy The Star - Monday to Saturday - for local news, sport, features and ads. To subscribe CLICK HEREREAD MOREMain news indexYour lettersFeaturesSouth Yorkshire's environmental newsKids ZoneMore business newsMore Rotherham newsMore Doncaster newsMore Barnsley newsLatest Sport
