THE owner of a store that closed its doors last week has blamed it on a "general downturn in trade".

Roger Lanchbury, who owns Brants convenience store, on the Droitwich Road, Worcester, said it was as if somebody had "turned the money tap off".

"I've been talking to the sales reps who come in the store and when we started suffering a lot of other small stores started suffering at the same time," said Mr Lanchbury, who has owned the store for three-and-a-half years.

"There's been a general down-turn in trade - why, I don't know. We're not doing anything we weren't doing all along."

Mr Lanchbury, from Fernhill Heath, has had to lay off four staff members and estimates turnover has dropped by about 15 per cent at the store, which sells groceries, newspapers, sweets, cigarettes and alcohol.

Graham Gopsill, who owns The Barber's Clock, not far from Brants, on the Droitwich Road, agreed trade was going "very badly".

"The antiques side, in particular, is very quiet," said Mr Gopsill, who sells antique clocks and gramophones. His daughter, Maxine Bennett, runs a hairdressing business at the shop as well.

"We thought it would be a good spot because people are worried about parking in the centre of town, but maybe we're a bit out on a limb here."

Mr Gopsill believes things got worse when war with Iraq broke out.

"Once that started it certainly dropped rapidly."

However, the Co-operative supermarket around the corner, on Ombersley Road, said trade was "booming".

"We're going through the roof," said Ian Merrick, store manager.

"It has been gradually going up but the last six months, in particular, have seen quite a dramatic increase in trade."

Mr Merrick attributed the store's success to its "good position", its well-targeted promotions, and the fact the store underwent a £200,000 re-fit last March, accompanied by an increase in the number of lines stocked.

Figures from the Chamber of Commerce, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, show the number of retail businesses in Worcestershire has fallen.

However, the number of people working in the retail sector in Worcestershire has increased.

Dominated

Rebecca Hatton, research officer, said this would appear to back up anecdotal evidence that the retail sector is becoming dominated by fewer, but larger, retailers.

In 2000, there were 27,987 people working in the retail sector in Worcestershire, compared with 26,939 in 1998.

The number of companies in the retail sector has dropped, however, from 2,745 in 1998, to 2,725 in 2000.

"These figures, which are the most up-to-date available, seem to say there are fewer retailers employing more people, which would suggest bigger retailers."