The United Colors of Benetton shop on Montpellier Parade is to close.

The shop confirmed the news when asked by the Stray Ferret, but declined to give further details so the closure date is unknown.

Many products are on sale and some shelves are light on stock as the final items are sold.

Benetton Group, which is based in Italy, has about 5,000 stores worldwide.

The Stray Ferret asked the group for details of the Harrogate store closure and received this response:

“The store belongs to an independent partner of Benetton Group.”

This closure is the latest high street casualty in Harrogate’s. Department store Debenhams has gone into liquidation and looks set to close its stores.

Read more:

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This weekend Knaresborough high street will welcome a new addition called The Clothing Store of Knaresborough.

Owner Rebecca Lombardi is passionate about catering for all sizes and will stock women’s clothes sizes eight to 32 once it opens on Saturday.

The store has been a dream of Rebecca’s since she started working in retail at 16.

The shop is flooded with light and the clothes racks are spread out to allow for an easy shopping experience.

She opened her own online business in 2017 and her extensive retail experience has given her an eye for style. As she scans the racks of clothing, her passion is obvious.

The array of colours and fabrics is set against the shop’s white walls. The space is clean and bright with industrial touches, such as steel racks for the clothes to hang on.

Rebecca said:

“I loved the feel of the front of the building and I thought it would make a lovely shop.

“I wanted the industrial look and white walls. I wanted the feel of a high-end boutique but without the price tag.”

Bright and colourful clothes hang in abundance around the shop.

Her online site, Deals Direct, dealt with customers from all over the country but Rebecca wanted to offer the full shopping experience too.

She said:

“I think I can be a specialist to the plus-size range and I have a lot of regular customers that I think will travel to have the shopping experience.

“The average UK size is 16 to 18 yet you go into most shops and all those sizes have sold out. It’s really important to look at the average size and shape of your customers and cater for those customers that may be excluded by other retailers.”

Knaresborough’s high street has evolved in recent months with many other shops opening. Rebecca fell for the town’s charm, and said she was welcomed with excitement and positivity from residents and other businesses.

Some of Rebecca’s team. Maisie Withnell, Aimee Blakeborough and Katie Shaw.

Customer service is a priority for Rebecca, who hopes to offer shoppers a one-to-one service.

“I want my customers to get a feel-good shopping experience and also find something they want to purchase.”

Currently the shop only stocks women’s clothes but she hopes to bring in men’s items before Christmas.

The entrance area to the shop.

It has taken Rebecca years to build up her customer base and it is only now she has the confidence to open a shop. She is also offering some space to other small businesses to stock their products.

“I want to give small businesses the chance to get their foot in the door. I know I would have really appreciated it at the beginning.”

An increase in people wanting to live more sustainably has prompted the Refilling Station in Harrogate to move to larger premises.

The business reduces waste by asking customers to bring their own containers to buy products such as household cleaning products, dried food and toiletries.

The shop was originally based on Grove Road but outgrew the space as the concept took off.

It remained open during lockdown and this month relocated to larger premises on Cold Bath Road.

Lydia Ross, manager of the Harrogate store, said she was overwhelmed by the number of customers supporting the business. She said:

“We’re more visible now and we have lots of other shops around us. It was really tough during lockdown, we were just bombarded; we had queues outside the old shop and we were limited for space.”

The increase in customers has enabled the shop to extend its product range.

Customer numbers have continued to grow in the new premises, enabling the shop to expand its products.

Kirsty Dodds, who owns the Refilling Station stores in Harrogate and Chapel Allerton in Leeds, said:

“At the beginning people were saying it was a good idea but it was a new concept in town, but it’s growing now.

“It is becoming more normal to shop this way.”

A Harrogate shoplifter who was caught in possession of a meat cleaver has been jailed for 11 months.

Colin Bradley, 33, of Hargrove Road, had been carrying the lethal weapon at Asda in Harrogate where he stole two bottles of Jack Daniel’s whisky, York Crown Court heard today.

The fresh-produce manager stopped Bradley as he was leaving the store with the whisky bottles. Bradley was at first co-operative, said prosecutor Martin Bosomworth.

But when the male employee noticed more items in his jacket and pockets and asked him if he had stolen anything else, Bradley became aggressive and a “stand-off” ensued.

Mr Bosomworth told the court:

“(Bradley) put his hand in his pockets (where the blade was) and said, ‘Do you want it then?’”

“The (named manager) formed the impression that the defendant had some kind of knife.”

Fearing for his safety, the manager got out of Bradley’s way and let him leave the store.

Shortly after, police stopped Bradley and asked him if he was carrying a weapon. He pulled out a meat cleaver and handed it over.

Numerous thefts

Bradley, who was drunk and possibly high on drugs, was arrested and brought in for questioning. He refused to answer police questions about the incident on March 3.

He was released on bail pending further enquiries.

During this time, local shops and supermarkets provided CCTV evidence showing the convicted thief had targeted other stores since the beginning of February.

In one incident on February 10 he stole four packs of Stella Artois, food items and ready meals from the Co-op store on Knaresborough Road. He returned to the same shop later in the day to steal a multi-pack of tuna and a pack of Foster’s lager.

After being released on bail, he stole four cases of Jack Daniel’s and two packs of lager from the Co-op store on King Edward Drive on May 5.

Just over two weeks later, he targeted Sainsbury’s supermarket in Knaresborough where he stole cases of San Miguel beer. He returned to the store in June when he stole chicken breasts and pasta sauce.

Knuckle duster

Bradley was sentenced today after pleading guilty to possessing a bladed article in public and seven counts of theft.

The court heard he had 10 previous convictions for offences including possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence in 2014. His other convictions included carrying a knuckle duster, serious violence and drug offences.

Defence barrister Ashleigh Metcalfe said that Bradley had been binge-drinking and homeless during his four-month thieving spree.

Since the meat-cleaver incident, he had been trying to curb his drinking and drug-taking, which had been exacerbated by family bereavements.

But judge Simon Hickey said carrying a meat cleaver in public was such a serious offence that it had to be immediate custody.

The judge added that Bradley’s previous conviction for possessing a blade or offensive weapon meant he was liable to a minimum jail term as a “second-striker”.

Jailing Bradley for 11 months, Mr Hickey added:

“Anybody who carries a meat cleaver (must expect) an immediate custodial sentence, even though one was never taken out (of the defendant’s pocket).”

Bradley will serve half of the sentence behind bars before being released on prison licence.

With a story behind each and every product on the shelves, a colourful new charity shop is preparing to open its doors in Harrogate tomorrow.

Artizan International’s debut store on Oxford Street will sell crafts made by disabled people from the UK, Peru and Ecuador.

The charity, which was previously known as Craft Aid International, was founded by Susie Hart when she returned to Harrogate from Tanzania 10 years ago.

The shop sells bright cushions, lampshades, jewellery, headbands and more made by disabled people. The charity trains them in crafts and gives them a living through the sales.

A new shop in Harrogate on Oxford Street in the former Harrogate Hub.

Picking up a pair of pink earrings off the shelf, Ms Hart explained to the Stray Ferret how the charity changes lives:

“They were made by a young man in Peru called Steven who uses a wheelchair. He had never had a job before and had never been able to support his girlfriend. Things were really desperate for him before he joined us.”

The pink earrings made by Steven.

The new shop on Oxford Street is the former home of Harrogate Hub, which no longer needed the space so offered it to Artizan at half the price.

When an anonymous donor heard about this, they stepped in with £200,000 to help Artizan buy the building.

Read more:

• New barbers opens in Harrogate town centre
• New shop opens in Killinghall today

Juggling the new shop with the charity’s existing work has been a huge challenge over the last few months.

The coronavirus lockdown meant all of the craft sessions and tutorials abroad and at home needed to stop or move online.

Bright and colourful headbands on the shelves.

It also meant all of the Artizan teams in Peru and Ecuador had to stop production. They still have some stock leftover from before the pandemic but Harrogate Scrubbers also stepped in to help fill the shelves.

Artizan plans to open a cafe in the building at the start of next year staffed solely by people with hearing disabilities.

Would you like to spread the word about your shop opening? No matter how small the shop get in touch with the Stray Ferret.

The M&Co shop in Ripon has been saved from store closure as the company goes through a major financial restructure.

M&Co appointed administrators in April after closing during the coronavirus lockdown. A total of 47 stores have been closed.

The company has described covid as its biggest challenge “in over 60 years”.

For over 40 years, the store has been a constant tenant on Ripon’s high street.

M&Co chief executive Andy McGeoch said:

“It quickly became clear that best way to save most jobs and most stores was to enter administration, with a new company acquiring the assets of the old business. I am really pleased that we have been able to maintain a presence in over 200 communities.

“Local economies rely to a huge degree on their town centres and we have seen too many High Streets hollowed out by successive shop closures. More and more people are beginning to realise that, if they don’t support their town centres, everyone’s quality of living really takes a hit, so we are proud to be playing a part in the drive to shop locally.”

Read more:

• Shops on the outskirts of town centres have said they feel “left out”.
• WATCH as we ask how people in Harrogate feel about having to wear a face mask in shops.

Alongside shop closures, the company has announced 380 job redundancies from a total workforce of over 2,600.

A small antiques shop has opened at The Knox pub in Bilton as a Harrogate woman aims to follow a new path after lockdown.

Foxy Antiques and Interiors will sell a range of items, from retro furniture to vintage collectables. The small shop is occupying a former storage cupboard at the pub.

Alex Clarke, who previously worked in housekeeping, decided during lockdown that she needed a new challenge. Since November, she has been buying and selling antiques, and decided to expand from a small unit in a local antiques shop to the larger space at The Knox.

The shop will sell a range of items, from furniture to candles.

She told the Stray Ferret that her previous job was impacted by coronavirus so she decided to pursue a new venture, following something she has always been interested in. She said:

“It’s completely new to me. I’ve worked in housekeeping for nine years but my wages went down as a result of covid so I decided to look for something else. I needed something new and fresh that would challenge me.”

Katie Swannie, owner of The Knox pub, hopes that the new shop will be the start of something great. She told the Stray Ferret:

“We hope both businesses will benefit each other. It’s always something we’ve wanted to do. I want to create a little complex of quirky things that all complement each other, so this is the first step. We are hoping it will bring something for the local people in this area.”

As well as the launch of Foxy Antiques and Interiors, last weekend also saw the opening of a new beer garden at the back of the pub. As well as providing somewhere to enjoy the sun, it will help the pub to follow social distancing guidelines.

During lockdown the pub was re-decorated and has had a new beer garden built.