Family-owned retailer in city centre closes for good after 295 years as boss says ‘it's difficult to swallow'

The Sun

14-05-2025

A FAMILY-OWNED firm has closed down after nearly 300 years, in a decision the boss says is "difficult to swallow."
The company is believed to be the 'oldest' in the city, having been established 295 years ago.
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Based in Coventry and founded in 1730, Astleys specialised in cleaning, hygiene and janitorial products.
It has now closed for good after it entered solvent liquidation and ceased trading.
Directors David and Jonathan said the firm is one of a few independent retailers still operating in the city as the West Midlands has seen a surge in multinational firms.
The closure was caused by several factors, including consumer shopping habits changing after Covid-19.
Rising costs were also an issue as operational costs were described as "increasingly difficult to swallow" by the directors.
In their statement, they said that supplies felt pressured to reduce overheads, often prioritising "fewer, larger customers" over smaller independents which made it difficult to compete in a crowded market.
In a joint statement they said: 'It is with great sadness that the directors of the business have taken the decision to end our relationship with thousands of wonderful customers.
"However, it is time to make this decision whilst we are in the position to be able to withdraw with honour held.
"We are conducting a controlled shutdown, ensuring that we pay all our staff, suppliers and other creditors.
"Astleys has not gone bust, we are entering solvent liquidation."
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"Many of our customers have said many wonderful things and expressed shock and disappointment.
"We have heard that Astleys is part of Coventry, and indeed, after 295 years of employing Coventrians, serving Coventry businesses and paying our taxes and dues, we also feel that sentiment.
They added: "If only history paid the bills."
Astley's sold a range of practical products, including protective clothing, chemicals and tools.
Customers on social media expressed sadness at the business' closure, commenting on the high quality, affordable clothing as the biggest loss.
One customer wrote: "Astley's was a really good supplier and good prices. Shame this goes too."
Online reviews praise friendly and knowledgeable staff, as well as good value, high-quality workwear.
One reviews reads: "Great prices, great service, knowledgeable staff."
The store was based in Coventry Business Park and employed staff from the local area.
It comes amid nationwide closures affecting a range of independent businesses.
This has affected historic family-owned businesses like a DIY shop in Yorkshire and a newsagents in Ely.
Why are retailers closing shops?
EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre's decline.
The Sun's business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.
In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.
Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open. In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.
The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.
Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead.
Boss Stuart Machin recently said that when it relocated a tired store in Chesterfield to a new big store in a retail park half a mile away, its sales in the area rose by 103 per cent.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Wilko, Debenhams Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Paperchase to name a few.
What's increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.