Swezey Jewelers lasted several decades on Main Street.
Jack Wills is gone after less than 7 years.
The British-based clothing retailer is done here. Today, employees are clearing out the merchandise.
“They’re closing this location” is all one worker said.
Jack Wills has 70 stores in the UK. It expanded to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket in 2010, then to Westport, Boston, Chatham (Massachusetts), New Canaan and Philadelphia.
The New Canaan store closed in 2016, after less than 4 years.
The Westport closure does not appear to be related to the new SoNo Collection — the mammoth mall set to open in Norwalk in October 2019. Click here for this morning’s “06880” story, on the effect it may have on Main Street.
Jack Wills’ Main Street store.
do we get feedback on why they are leaving main street? is it rents? demographics changed?
The Greenwich store also closed in 2015 after 4 years.
So where are all our Westport teenagers going to find work??????
Meanwhile… I was in New Canaan recently and the Main Street is thriving with a healthy vibrant mix of independent and chain stores. Why is Westport’s downtown such a failure ? The new mall in Norwalk which everybody blames for Westport’s retail ghost town is just as close in proximity to New Canaan. So it has to be attributed to some other factor – maybe we need to look at what the town leaders in New Canaan have done and learn something from them
Because unlike Westport, New Canaan doesn’t have stores located along it’s roads from one end of town to the other….all the stores are downtown.
I
to Susan Kapec – we’re hiring at the winged monkey if there are reliable hard-working fashionable teenage girls looking for jobs.
Moms too!
Maybe a Quinnipiac University survey of ‘Westport residents could provide some data to define the problems for us to solve?
Wspt needs more upscale shops like Bedford Square development and fewer chain stores.
We also need more restaurants to support shops like The Brownstone which offers beautiful eclectic merchandise and the most amazing personal service. Can’t find that in a mall!
Downtown needs a pizza place again, it needs a local coffee shop, it needs good restaurants (like Boca – so sad they left), they need good independent small retail stores (ex. Klein’s) and a good book store (ex. Remarkable bookstore).
I never go downtown anymore. I used to go all the time for 30 years. What has happened? I have two young kids and I never think let’s go downtown anymore. It really is sad what has happened here. There needs to be more people in our town heard, because personally our downtown is no longer a draw for people across Fairfield County. My family has been here for over 50 years and this downtown area really needs the input of the locals again and not just the big developers/landlords. There needs to be a change and I hope our first selectman and the Westport downtown merchants association will facilitate this in the right direction.
Last one out, shut the lights off.
Bring back Functional Clothing !!