Women only as store is revived

The Priory Place shop has shut, with all the jobs switching to the Scot Lane base. Priory Place had been a women's store, with the business selling menswear from one of its Scot Lane sites.

The men's range at Scot Lane will be replaced by the women's stock from Priory Place.

The firm says it may bring back the men's store in the future if it can find alternative premises, but it is having to make the changes because it is expanding its wholesale business.

It has invited 200 customers to a relaunch tonight at which it will show new lines, including designs created by the firm's own specialist designer, Lynne Witton, from Thorne.

She is one of three owners of the shops.

Store spokeswoman Fiona Sergison said: "We have had the menswear shop for 12 years but we are closing it to concentrate on what we believe we do best. A lot of customers have said they are very disappointed.

"The lease had come up on the Priory shop and we didn't want to stay there.

"Tonight we want to show off the new ranges we've got from Paris and from London and the British designers.

"We've sent out invitations to about 200 of our best customers. We've spent a lot of time and money on the shop for the relaunch."

The shop's own designs will be sold at its Doncaster shops and at small stores elsewhere in Britain and overseas.

They are manufactured by a team of five sample machinists who were offered jobs after Doncaster clothing factories closed in the borough several years ago. The store describes it as a specialist market.

The store's designs sell for between 40 and 150 on its own labels, O by Obi, and Obi.

The launch is from 5pm until 8pm.