'Empty units' surround business in shopping centre

Artists at a gift shop have appealed for support needed "more than ever" as the business is surrounded by "dark" and "empty, rarely used" shopping centre units.

Shop in the Square was founded in 2013 and sells handmade items from 18 local businesses, run from the Mander Centre, Wolverhampton.

Jo Burgess, who sells her items in the shop, said there had been a "significant drop" in sales since the store moved from the upper to lower mall in 2023 to reduce rent costs.

The former university lecturer said that the shop could be forced to close if sales didn't pick up and encouraged customers to explore the Mander Centre for businesses like theirs.

"We are just about surviving now and if we go it would be absolutely heartbreaking for us as individuals and the community. It would devastating," she said.

Burgess said that the store used to be surrounded by charity shops and electronic shops which attracted lots of shoppers and gave it a "bustling vibe".

But now customers rarely visited their end of the Mander Centre due to lots of empty shops, she added.

"It's just round the corner from the main bit of the shopping centre and it's hard to find, so people don't even know we are here.

"We do need the customers to come and support us, if you want something unique come and buy it, if we go you can't get it elsewhere," she said.

Shop manager Charlotte Clark appealed for shoppers to purchase from small businesses to "keep food on the table" with every item handmade with "genuine love for the process".

"Everyone sees the current state of our high streets in this country, and we are feeling it heavily here in Wolverhampton," she said.

Clark recognised that the shop was "loved by many" but encouraged people to "speak with their feet and purse" as well as "sharing the love".

Shop in the Square is located on the lower mall of the Mander Centre, opposite Super Bowl UK.

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