Oxford United can confirm that the club shop in the Covered Market will be closing from the end of this month.
The shop has been open for two and a half years and although we leave on good terms a recent change of leaseholder for the premises led to the club being served notice to vacate the unit.
Lee Barton, Head of Retail & Ticketing, told us
“It was a surprise to receive the notice to vacate. As many fans know, our shop was around a third of the Market Barbers off Avenue 2. The new owners want to use the whole unit, which we completely understand. We move on, wishing The Market Barbers all the best for the future.
“These are very challenging times in retail, with purchasing habits ever changing. We hold our hands up and admit that the Covered Market unit had probably not been as commercially successful as we’d hoped. Many of our fans will know the city centre has gone through something of a transformation over the past few years which has coincided with our time in the Covered Market. The size and location of our premises proved more challenging than we’d initially expected.”
“We have been exploring other units in the city centre over the past 12 months but costs are prohibitive. We will continue to explore those opportunities as well as looking at new initiatives to increase retail revenue and improve the supporter experience.”
“On that note we have some really exciting retail plans for the 2020/21 season, both instore at our Grenoble Road unit and online at www.oufcshop.co.uk . But sadly, in terms of the Covered Market our last days trade will be some time during the week beginning March 16th.”