Poignant farewell message to town’s Debenhams staff

BOSSES at Carmarthen’s St Catherine’s Walk posted a poignant farewell and good luck message to Debenhams staff on their last day at the weekend.

The store, along with the Debenhams branch in Llanelli’s Parc Trostre, closed on Sunday.

They were among the first wave of stores to shut as part of the retail giant’s final weeks in business.

The department store giant collapsed last year but reopened 97 of its shops last month to allow for a final closing down sale, with up to 80% off fashion and home products.

Posting on Facebook on Sunday, St Catherine’s Walk paid tribute to the staff as it said goodbye to Debenhams, a staple of the shopping centre since it opened in April 2010.

The Facebook post read: “We’re saying farewell to our Debenhams store as they officially close their doors for the final time today (May 2). We’d like to say a massive thank you to all of the Debenhams staff that have been a part of St Catherine’s Walk over the last 10 years – we’re going to miss you!”

The sprawling Debenhams store was at the heart of the St Catherine’s Walk development for the past 11 years.

However, town leaders have been quick to say that the demise of Debenhams nationally was always on the cards and that the pandemic simply speeded it up. River Island, Fat Face, Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, Accessorize, Monsoon, Burger King have all gone from Carmarthen since March last year.

Talks are under way and several irons are apparently in the fire in relation to what could become of the Debenhams unit.