You forgot to blame BREXIT.
Politics aside, I saw a poster in the window on Thursday about a Closing Down Sale.
I agree that this is indeed sad, but I suppose it was inevitable sooner or later as the business is clearly not trading well enough to justify a double unit and so cannot realistically be sold on as a going concern (or obviously that is what would happen) and Kevin himself is well past normal retirement age.
I remember the shop well as for most of my life I've bought all my jeans there and they've managed to have my size in stock whereas that was not always the case elsewhere.
I don't know if he still runs a big trade stand at horse / agricultural shows around the country but that was certainly a major part of the business. I recall being on call in the early 80s to go along to his shows as a junior sales assistant and we'd sleep in tents or even in the lorry. I certainly remember one long and wet weekend at a show ground in Exeter when the rain went on and on and raincoats, Barbour coats and green wellies sold like hot cross buns ...
When I used to commute to London during the 80s and 2000s on the train between Westbury and Paddington, it was amazing how many times two local topics were being discussed by other people on the train.
One was often people mentioning that Westbury had nothing worth visiting except "Kevins". They tended to be smart hunting and shooting types who would then go on and snigger at the name "Kevins".
The other was the Glastonbury festival and half the time Michael Eavis himself was actually there surrounded by teenage girls and female students who had moved to sit closeby who were rabbiting on and on and on about the artists going and their own student politics. I recall one cringeworthy conversation when he had been surrounded by young LibDems who were clearly trying to convert him from Labour to the LibDems ...
Kevins Meswear closing will be a loss to the High Street no doubt as nothing like it will follow in its place. I believe Kevin owns both units and so I imagine he'll try to let them or sell them. Either way, it is going to be a hole in the High Street for some time ...
