Mobility scooter store near Oswestry to close
A company that provides lifestyle products and mobility scooters is closing a branch near Oswestry along with nine other stores across the UK.
Everyday healthcare provider Simplyhealth has announced it is closing its store based retail proposition, including The Unlimited Company store in Moreton Park Wyevale Garden Centre.
Ten stores will close immediately, including seven that are branded The Unlimited Company as well as three that operate under the Independent Living and Collins Care brands.
The ten stores are located in Andover, Bristol, Bicester, Blackburn, Burnham, Droitwich, Leeds, Morton Park, Norwich and Radstock.
Five other stores that fall under the care and mobility banner will remain open while a possible sale of this part of the business is considered.
A total of 85 jobs will be affected, however it is not understood how many jobs will be lost at the Moreton Park site.
Simplyheath has vowed to support their employees and will fulfil all orders that have already been placed with them.
Romana Abdin, chief executive of Simplyhealth said running the stores is not a viable option.
The chief executive said: "This is not the outcome we wanted when we created The Unlimited Company proposition.
"It was a very difficult decision to make, not just taking into account the thousands of customers that we have helped but because our own people will be affected. However, we remain committed to ensuring that people who need help with mobility or caring get the best advice and products possible.
“As someone with a disability myself I know there is a need for better support networks for people.
"Unfortunately it has become clear that physical shops are not a viable way forward for Simplyhealth and from a business viewpoint we have to ensure we look at better ways of providing people with the support they need.”
The Unlimited Company proposition was developed in 2016 as an innovative retail format to provide better support to an ageing population, people with mobility requirements and their carers.
Since then the company say they have seen a wider availability of mobility products being provided by large general retailers and online providers which has changed the future sustainability of the current proposition.
