'I'm not going down without a fight': Vintage shop in Southsea could close by end of summer amid financial strain
Just months after celebrating its first birthday, a vintage shop in the heart of Southsea is desperately trying to stay open following six months of making minimal profits.
Actually Merlin Vintage, located in Albert Road, is the brainchild of Merlin Pitt who opened the quirky store last March after discovering his undeniable passion for vintage clothing and sustainability over a decade ago.
The former mechanic has recently taken to social media to inform customers that the shop has seen a significant drop in profits over the last few months and that if trade doesn’t pick up, this summer could be its last.
Merlin said: “January is never a particularly busy month but it was alright and then February and March it was so bad I went into panic mode, I was really worrying after March because that was the second month we lost money so I just lost my marbles and in April we got a little bit but in May we made £150 profit after paying all the bills.
“I just can’t carry on like that - going forwards it has to improve or it wouldn’t be sustainable and we would have to shut. That is definitely not what I want and I do get the feeling it’s not what our customers want either and I like having a shop here, I like being in this area because we have got loads of lovely customers so I’m not going down without a fight.”
The shop predominantly specialises in 80s, 90s and 2000s clothing as well as accessories, footwear and magazines and has a number of upcoming events this summer including a collaboration with Croxtons to create a pop up shop on July 6 between 6pm and 10pm.
Merlin added: “Someone was in here the other day saying their water bill had gone up by £60 so it is pretty tough out there so when I did the reel I felt guilty because I don’t want to guilt trip people into buying stuff from us but at the same time I want to be transparent by saying right now isn’t particularly brilliant and it can’t carry on.
“We have got commitments with pop ups coming up until the end of August, with Victorious being the last one, so we could definiteley keep going until then - if we start picking up then it makes the end much further away but if it carries on with only £150 profit a month we could be closing at the end of August.”