Saturday 30th August saw the final day of trading for W Hurst & Sons on Ventnor’s High Street.
Hursts (as it’s more commonly known) has served the Ventnor community for more than 60 years, and the announcement in May of the planned closure came as a shock to residents, many of whom rely on the Ventnor branch for all manner of items, from homeware to DIY, key cutting to good old fashioned advice and excellent customer service.
The branch has held an incredibly important role on the High Street, many refer to it as the ‘lifeblood of the high street’.
Rising costs and drop in footfall
However, the Managing Director of Hursts, Jevon Kennedy, blamed the closure on “downward pressure on sales and footfall” (ie. not enough people shopping in the branch to support its future in the town), as well as “rising operational costs, influenced by recent UK budgetary measures”. That seems to point towards an increased cost to employers for National Insurance contributions.
This cost is likely to remain the same for Hursts, as the four staff members at the Ventnor branch are, customers will be pleased to hear, being given jobs at other branches on the Island.
That said, the retailer has also managed to sell (subject to contract) the entire four-storey Grade II listed landmark building, which carried a price tag of just £200,000 – so that should help the coffers for a little longer.
Sad goodbyes
Many well wishers popped into the almost empty shop on the final day to say goodbye. The stock had slowly been stripped out of the branch over the last few weeks – a very sombre sight for customers, as well, we expect, for those working there.
Despite this, the staff have remained their helpful friendly selves.
Rudman: I genuinely will miss you all
Manager, Dave Rudman, shared this message on the final day,
“I don’t know where to begin writing this. It’s not a situation I thought I’d be in, confident in the status quo and that we could weather anything that was thrown our way. COVID, Brexit, Minimum wage, National Insurance, Amazon? There’s not one single thing that we can blame, but what’s done is done.
“I need to look to the future and for me personally that will be at our Shanklin branch from Monday. Stu will be joining me, and together with Graham and Sue I feel we’ll have an excellent team.
“Mark and Andy will be joining the team at Ryde.
“I’ve been at the Ventnor store for around 15 years. You have all been amazing customers over the years and I really have loved being part of Ventnor. I genuinely will miss you all. That said, I’d love to see you in Shanklin! That store will need your support to secure its future. We can still offer free local deliveries to Ventnor with a minimum £20 spend.”
Our thanks to Julian Winslow, a regular customer in the branch, for sharing these shots he took of the team on their last day.
Article update
9.46pm 1st Sept 2025 – Grade II listed reference added
