NATIONAL clothing chain Dorothy Perkins will be shutting its Stourbridge shop at the end of the month.

The Ryemarket based store will cease trading on Saturday, May 30, after decades of prominence in the town centre.

Customers are now being redirected to the two nearby Dorothy Perkins stores in the Merry Hill Centre.

Kelley Dias, centre manager at the Ryemarket Shopping Centre, said she was disappointed that Dorothy Perkins will be leaving after such a long presence in the centre.

She said: “It’s a real shame and we are sad to see such a long established brand leave. It’s already happened in other towns and it will be a loss to Stourbridge as a whole, not just the Ryemarket.

“Looking forward, talks are on-going with interested parties to take on the unit but it is far too early to be in a position to make any announcement.”

A spokesman for Arcadia Group, owners of the clothing chain, said: “We can confirm that the store is to close on May 30.

“We are constantly reviewing our store portfolio across the group, and leases continually expire or come up for renewal.

“We are always looking at how to shape our store portfolio, investing in flagship stores, and increasing our brands' presence on-line.

“When leases expire that we do not renew, we endeavour to re-deploy staff affected to another store within the Arcadia Group as much as we can.”