Long-standing St Leonards shop to close

Stricklands Pet and Garden Supplies in Silverhill, St Leonards, will be closing on March 31.

The closure marks the end of era for the retail side of an old Hastings and Hailsham company.

Originally started in 1818, the company sold coal and animal feeds. It subsequently expanded into seeds, feeds and general agricultural merchanting.

In addition, retail pet and garden supply shops and an associated seed potato company were set up.

The Silverhill shop was established in the early 1960s when Stricklands bought out A.E.O. Pelling, which was another similar business. Pelling’s traded on the site of what is now the unoccupied Co-op building and also had corn stores around the corner in Chatham Road and opposite in Silverlands Road.

Some years later the firm bought out Drapers corn and seed suppliers.

Many years later it acquired the former Dawn and Dorset laundry shop which adjoined theirs.

A spokesman for the Strickland family said: “We are sorry to be withdrawing from the retail side of our business but it has become increasingly difficult in the face of competition from large scale retailers who have the ability to top slice our trade season by season.

“This has also had a detrimental effect on footfall in the high street over the past three years which has reduced passing trade. We would like to thank all our customers for their past business and we wish them well for the future. We shall miss them.”

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