A Clarks shoe shop which closed in Abingdon after trading for more than 20 years is to reopen.

Shoppers were shocked when the store in the Bury Street precinct closed suddenly in April.

They were given almost no warning before a notice was placed in the window and tearful staff left the store for the last time.

READ MORE: New pasta restaurant is busy with customers 

It emerged that the franchisee running the shop, and the Clarks in Wallingford, had decided to close them both.

But now a different franchisee, Robert Bates, has decided to reopen the Abingdon store but not the Wallingford one.

He hopes there will be enough footfall in Abingdon to support the shop.

Mr Bates said: "I run 13 other Clarks shops from Neath in West Wales to Witney and Stratford.

(Image: Andy Ffrench) "I opened the Stratford store last year and I'm loving it - I started working for Clarks when I as 24 years old."

Mr Bates said he was planning to reopen the Abingdon Clarks early next month.

And staff who worked there before have been invited back.

"I have spoken to the staff and I think at least two of them will be returning," Mr Bates said.

"Business rates remain a challenge - I've taken a five-year lease.

READ MORE: Popular music festival returns 

"I'm a great fan of Clarks as a brand - globally it is very well received in Asia and America and I don't think the British people respect it enough."

Mr Bates said he started out as a Clarks franchisee in Abergavenny in Wales in 1998 and for many years ran eight stores.

Ian Collett, who runs The Bookstore in Abingdon, said: "This is great news for the precinct.

(Image: Andy Ffrench) "It's good news for families who will need to buy their kids new shoes before they go back to school in September."

The Vodafone store in the precinct closed in May and following the Clarks closure it prompted concerns about empty units in the precinct.

There have, however, been a series of new businesses opening in the town, including new dessert parlours in High Street and Bath Street.

Popular footwear chain Clarks was founded in 1825 and operated across over 1,400 stores and franchises internationally at its peak but, as of July 2023 the brand had just 320 stores.

The return of the Bury Street shoe shop will save Abingdon shoppers a trip to Clarks in Witney, Didcot or Oxford.

There is also a Clarks in Banbury, but the Bicester Village store closed last year.

Clarks opened a large new shop at the Westgate Centre earlier this month, and plans to close its Cornmarket Street branch in September.

Clarks started out in Street in Somerset in 1825 when brothers Cyrus and James Clark crafted a slipper from sheepskin offcuts.

Help support trusted local news 

Sign up for a digital subscription now: https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/subscribe/

As a digital subscriber you will get:      

  • Unlimited access to the Oxford Mail website   
  • Advert-light access       
  • Reader rewards       
  • Full access to our app