ONE of Guernsey’s best known corner shops is to be closed. Ville au Roi Island Shopper, which has traded for more than 50 years, is the latest casualty in CI Traders successor Sandpiper’s rationalisation programme.
Blaming poor performance and access problems, it said the tills will ring for the last time in January.
The shop, previously run by the Le Lacheur family, was closed briefly yesterday morning while staff were told that they should have jobs in other stores.
Sandpiper operations director Mark Cox said the closure was a one-off and there were no plans to close any other stores at the moment.
‘The site is not suitable to continue as a shop because it does not meet the modern day standards expected by customers,’ he said.
‘For instance, the steps up to the store cause access problems for the elderly, disabled and mothers with buggies. There is also no car park on the site and people have to cross a very busy road to get to the shop.
‘We do not anticipate making any redundancies. We are working with the Ville au Roi Island Shopper staff and are looking to relocate all of them within existing stores.’
It has not yet been decided whether the premises will be sold to another retailer to continue as a shop or for development.
Mr Cox denied Sandpiper was gradually shedding its businesses one by one.
‘We are reviewing all the sites as any other business does and will continue to make sure that we provide benefits to customers and ourselves,’ he said. ‘We have some very good sites in the island and they will remain. We expect to be developing our L’Islet Island Shopper as well as our St Martin’s Checkers Xpress forecourt.
‘It’s not our intention to sell off all the businesses as some people are suggesting.’
A sign on the Ville Au Roi Island Shopper door yesterday morning read: ‘This store will be closed for 15 minutes from 11am for a staff meeting. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.’
Safeway general manager Kenny McDonald broke the news to the employees inside, but refused to comment.
Doris Sallabank, who uses the shop every day, said she hoped a shop would remain on the site. Another customer who lives nearby as surprised to hear the shop would be closing.
‘It’s quite a big store and always seems to be busy,’ he said. ‘I suppose everyone goes to the supermarkets these days and just comes here for small things,’ he said.
* The announcement that it was to close the Ville au Roi shop came a day after Sandpiper chief executive Tony O’Neill said: ‘While Ville au Roi may not offer the same kind of potential as other sites, there is as yet no indication of what we will do with it.’
Article posted on 27th October, 2007 - 12.00am
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