A decades-old shop in Haverhill is today closed after a break-in, less than 48 hours after workers were told it would be shutting for good and their jobs would be lost.
Staff at the discount store, Thing-Me-Bobs, in Queen Street were told on Wednesday that it will close, although they have not been told when that will happen or why it is happening – and today they arrived to find it had been broken into overnight.
The shop’s manager, deputy manager, who are both full-time and the senior sales supervisor and eight sales assistants, all of whom are part-time, will lose their jobs.
Thing-Me-Bobs, in Queen Street, Haverhill is to close, with more than ten jobs lost as a result.Picture: Steve Barton
One employee, who doesn’t wish to be named, told the Echo: “At this present time we have only been told it’s closing and as yet have no other information as to any time frame.”
Thing-Me-Bobs has been a mainstay of Haverhill’s retail scene for more than 20 years.
In 2013 all of the Thing-Me-Bobs shops in East Anglia were bought by QD Stores.
The note put on the entrance to Thing-Me-Bobs in Haverhill after a break-in last night.Picture: Steve Barton
A police forensics van arrived at the shop this morning as the investigation into the break-in gets underway, with the shop remaining closed for the time being.
QD Stores have been approached by the Echo for comment as have Suffolk Police.
• News of the closure is another blow for Haverhill’s town centre, coming just two months after two shops that sit across from Thing-Me-Bobs in Queen Street, My Screen Monkey and Timpson, shut down.