Asian supermarket could close after 47 years in Eastbourne

The owners of Femy's Oriental Foods in Pevensey Road said they are planning to retire once they have sold enough of their stock – which they are hoping will be before Christmas.

The Asian supermarket, which the owners say has been in the town centre for 47 years, is currently having a ‘closing down sale’ and all items have been reduced to clear.

Femy’s Oriental Foods has been run by the current owners, who asked to remain anonymous, for the last 10 years.

They said: “We are going to retire abroad and somebody else should be taking it on. But these are tough times, it’s not the reason why we are closing [though].

"Times are very tough at the moment, especially for imported goods. Everything we have here is more or less imported and there are supply issues, prices are going up, we are taking a loss on a lot of our items, but that is not the reason [we are closing]. We just want to retire.

"As soon as our stock is down to a minimum level, that is the time we are going to go. We were going to stay until after Christmas but we have decided to go as soon as possible. The energy bills are super high. We were paying an average of £100-odd a month, now its nearly £500 a month. It’s too much.

"We are down by about 30 per cent on stock. There is no availability with some of the items. Everything is against us basically.”

The owners said they assume an Asian supermarket will still be run out of the site once they have left.

They added: "It is a well-known business. People come from all over to shop here. Over the last two to three years online shopping has affected us a bit. People still want to see the goods that they are buying rather than buying online [though].”

The shop is open from 9am-6pm Monday-Saturday, and between 10am-4pm on Sundays.

Anyone interesting in taking on the site is urged to contact the shop by calling 01323 649883.

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