Darryl and Carole Earle, the joint owners of independent model shop Collectables R Us, informed customers of the impending closure of its Eden base on March 7, citing “increased rent, decreased customer spending and more and more shoplifting incidents”.
Following an outpouring of customer support – with some “on the brink of depression” at the closure news – Darryl and Carole have now “formally accepted” the lease on a new unit at 16 Church Street, allowing them to continue serving their loyal local following.
Sharing the news on social media, the pair said they have ambitious plans for the new site, including creating a “monthly modelling club”, holding regular Scalextric races and incorporating a larger selection of toys following the closure of Toys UK back in February.
The retail space would also coexist with a “new interactive model railway layout” complete with “dynamic scenery, stop-start functions and sound effects” and shoppers encouraged to bring along and try out their own train sets.
In a joint statement issued on Friday (April 12), Darryl and Carole said their acceptance of the new unit was dependent on the level of support they would be able to generate to help with the move, including the costs of hiring plumbers, carpenters and electricians to carry out significant interior work.
READ MORE: Sharon Osbourne references her home near Beaconsfield in public dig at Amanda Holden
Speaking in March, the co-owners lamented that it had simply become “unviable” to continue trading in the Eden Shopping Centre but reassured customers that Collectables R Us would continue to operate in an online capacity.
Darryl told the Free Press last autumn that he didn’t believe shoplifting in Eden was being adequately tackled by Thames Valley Police.
He said: “When this kind of thing happens in Poundland and Boots, it just goes to Head Office and prosecution ends up being too much hassle. But (that) sends the wrong message – we have a sign saying, ‘Zero tolerance for shoplifting, we will prosecute you if we watch you’, and we need everyone to be doing that.
“It feels like the way things work is in favour of the shoplifters instead of us, the retailers.”
Collectables R Us will have its last day of trading in Eden on Saturday, April 27.
Discounts of up to 50 per cent are currently up for grabs, including on Scalextric products, model cars and train sets.