Dorothy Perkins has closed its doors for the last time in Formby

End of an era as the Dorothy Perkins shop which has been open in Formby village since the 1980s has now finally closed forever.

The branch has been a fixture in Formby village for 27 years and will be missed by residents.

All seven members of staff have managed to find employment either within the Arcadia Group or elsewhere. A spokesperson for Dorothy Perkins said: " Where possible we endeavour to re-deploy staff affected to another local store within the Arcadia Group."

Some of the staff from the Formby store Dorothy Perkins Staff - left to right - Mylee, Yvonne, Peter (The Manager), June and Pat

The closure is part of a cost-cutting move by the chain’s parent company Arcadia.

Back in 2013 the company announced it would be shutting high street stores in medium-sized towns and cities.

But Arcadia said their future would be decided as their leases came up for renewal.

Arcadia said the main reasons for the closures was the rise in online shopping and a rise in people going to “destination” shopping centres instead of High Streets.

A spokesperson for Arcadia said: "We are constantly reviewing our store portfolio across the Group and leases often expire or come up for renewal."

The spokesperson went on to say: "We are always looking at how to shape our retail business, as well as increasing our brands' presence on-line by offering our customers even more choice. Customers can still shop with Dorothy Perkins at the Outfit store in Southport, where they can also utilise our click and collect service.’

The closure programme followed a 38 per cent fall in profits by Arcadia and will involve up to 260 stores closing.

At its height Arcadia was one of the biggest private employers in Britain, with over 44,000 staff in its 2,500 UK stores.

Dorothy Perkins was started in 1919 and by 1939 had 70 stores across the UK and at one point had 600 stores and 120 outlets.

The Formby store closed at 1pm on Saturday 18th June. We are so sorry to see them go.