South Wales Evening Post - 25 September 2008
International retailer Gap has sensationally pulled out of Swansea city centre.
The fashion chain has closed its store in Oxford Street — just a stone's throw away from Swansea's prestigious £30 million new shopping development on the site of the former David Evans store.
Bosses said the decision had not been taken lightly and partly blamed poor sales.
It is not good news for the city centre coming in the wake of the closure of the adjacent stores of MK One and men's clothing retailer Profile, also in Oxford Street and in the busy run-up to Christmas.
Mike Jones, Swansea secretary of the Federation of Small Businesses said: "We are concerned.
"The last thing we want is a city centre of boarded-up shopfronts.
"We just hope the landlords can find new tenants."
Mr Jones continued: "This is the run-up to Christmas and the busiest trading period for most retailers.
"I find the decision to pull out hard to believe unless there is some financial problem with the company, as it is in a prime position in one of Wales's busiest high streets.
"I find it hard to believe that trading levels are the problem."
News of Gap's closure, and the subsequent loss of jobs, is another blow coming after news that Swansea's £30 million landmark development on the site of the former David Evans store would not be ready in time for Christmas.
City centre traders and shoppers had hoped the redevelopment of the site in Princess Way would be up and running in time for the festive frenzy.
But bad weather sunk plans to get big new names in ahead of the Christmas rush.
Swansea Council leader Chris Holley said: "I am very disappointed, but we are fully aware of the consequences of the credit crunch.
"The fact is that we are in turbulent financial times because of policies adopted by various Governments over the past 20 years.
"With the demise of the manufacturing base in the UK over the past 20 years, we have relied on retail has become more and more to create jobs and we are bitterly disappointed that this could be a loss of jobs in the city centre."
A Gap spokeswoman said: "At Gap we continuously review our store portfolio, as part of the course of doing business.
"The decision to close a store is always very difficult and can be attributed to different factors.
"Our overall corporate real estate strategy is focused on optimising our store fleet and allocating our square footage to better serve our customers."
