Sainsbury's is to close its Cowley store after 23 years.

The news has come as a shock to the 104 workers at the branch at Templars Square, Oxford, who have now been offered jobs at the supermarket giant's three other local outlets.

One worker said: "It's come as a bolt out of the blue and none of us could believe it."

The store opened in 1977, but bosses say trade in the last four years has been sliding. A Sainsbury's spokesman blamed the decline on competition from new stores that opened in the area and the 24-hour Cowley branch of Tesco.

The store will close on September 16 and bosses are confident there will be few job losses.

A spokesman said: "The company has tried hard to keep the store open, even though it has been making a steady loss since 1996-97. "Despite looking at numerous ways of improving the store to give a better offer to customers, Sainsbury's has now taken the difficult decision to close."

Store manager Richard Stenning thanked staff and customers for their loyalty.

Wendy White, manager of Templars Square shopping centre, said the closure news had come as a surprise, but there would be no problem finding someone to take over the vacant store. She said: "We have a long list of High Street names which have expressed an interest in a large site at Templars Square, but up until now we have not been able to offer it to them."

Around six other stores in the centre have closed in the last few weeks.

Mrs White said: "Their leases all expired at the same time and they took the decision to leave, but those shops will be full again soon."