A bargain retailer has revealed it has made the "difficult decision" to close a south Essex high street store after 25 years.

QD has operated in Grays High Street since 1999. However, a recent steady decline in sales has led to the decision to shut its doors in the new year.

A closing down sale will begin on December 27, with the store closing permanently on January 12.

Explaining the reason for the decision, Karl Ottolangui, group operations director, said: “Sales at the store have been in decline for some time and, despite the hard work and best efforts of the team at Grays, sales have continued to dwindle.

“Sadly, it has become no longer viable for us to continue with this store and therefore, we have had to make the difficult decision to close.

“We are very sad indeed to be making this announcement. QD has been part of the retail landscape in Grays for the past 24 years and our store has built up a very loyal customer base.

“We’d like to say thank you to all of them for choosing to shop with us in the town.

“Our staff too have been an enormous asset. Decisions to close stores are not taken easily and in no way reflect the hard work undertaken by our valued staff, in fact quite the opposite.”

The QD store in Grays currently employs 16 staff. QualityDiscounts is supporting them to find alternative employment in south Essex, including some positions within its other stores nearby.

Despite the blow for Grays High Street, the QD Group has added a number of new stores this year in locations such as Rayleigh, with further new openings planned for 2024.

QD has five other stores in Essex including Basildon, Clacton, Halstead, Maldon and Rayleigh. Customers can also continue to shop with QD online at www.qualitydiscounts.com.