Northfields 'Institution' To Shut Shop After Over 100 Years
Parking, high rents and online shopping blamed for closure of Oscarsons Pet Shop
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Local Northfields family-run business, Oscarsons Pets & Provisions, is set to close its doors by the end of the month, after an over 100-year presence in the borough.
Grace & Oscar Paklayan and daughter Talita Paklayan ( pictured above) talked to Rory Thomas about what will become of their beloved shop.
How did you come to own the business?
Grace : '' When we bought the property, 35 years ago, it was already a running pet shop since 1904. We started fresh. The original people closed shop and we started up under a new name. The lease ended and we own this property”.
Oscar: ''We purchased it from the original owner who moved on and opened up elsewhere. This place started off as a “corn chandlers”, which is a seed merchant. And we did that for a few years selling seeds from 20kg sacks in a very small premises. But we had to modernise over time.''
Daughter: ''My dad is a watch and clock repairman by trade, and previously he had a shop nearby, but when we took on the pet shop we brought the reception into here, for convenience.''
When was the store opened?
Grace: ''The building itself, 1904, but we’ve been trading since 1996 – twenty years. And we don’t have an exact date but will close this month (October).''
Why are you closing?
Grace: ''Obviously shopping (habits) have changed over the last twenty years – it’s not the same as it used to be. Business has gone downhill. A lot of that is due to parking…people find it difficult to park. Coming here to shop is not easy therefore. As a consequence, they now go online or perhaps a big supermarket where they can park! If we were not the owners of the free-hold we would have been gone a long time ago. But because we own it, we survived.''
Oscar: ''We did outlive two other pet shops.''
Grace: ''Yes in the area there were other pet shops, but we survived again because we own the free-hold.''
Oscar: “We have noticed that two or three small shops along this road have closed since January owing to lack of parking and of course competitive online markets. It’s just cafes and estate agents around here now. The biggest complaint is always the parking. I have a saying: “Freedom from Fear of Fines”. You should be able to park and shop without fear of fines or clamping. Shopping trends have changed, yes. But we can’t rely on people during the day because they are at work. We rely on passing trade. But if you stop for a small item and get a parking ticket, you won’t come back!”.
What will become of your business?
Grace: ''The future of the business is yet to be determined and we will discuss that later. But it will no longer be a pet shop, obviously. I did have an online presence which does help to subsidize. It was a good idea because people weren’t coming through the door.''
How is this affecting you?
Grace: ''In two ways: in a way I am relieved to have the breathing space having been self-employed for twenty years. But it isn’t ordinary self-employed because of the welfare of the animals (who have all been sold or rehomed). No days off. But the second and saddest part is the end of a pet shop that has been here since 1904. I love the job but it has been tiring. The animals were sold as a priority before we announced we were closing, and we kept rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, love birds, budgies, cockatiels and canaries – also cold water and tropical fish.''
Oscar: ''We prided ourselves on maintaining a clean, hygienic, smell-free shop. Most pet shops are not up to this standard. The animals all had good lives.''
What has this business meant to you?
Grace: ''We took over a building that had a pet shop, but I knew nothing about pets – I used to be a hairdresser! Oscar did know a thing or two though. But after we had a family, my husband wanted to take over, the watch repair side of the business was also new, so it wouldn’t have survived. So our only option was to take over the pet shop and combine the two. And a former employee and customer helped us to start up the business. Gradually we picked up, selling first food and accessories and later animals.''
Oscar: ''The rents are very high. We used to live upstairs but no more. Anyone who thinks they can take over a shop with rents of £300pw and then employ people, are going to struggle. In the old-days families ran businesses, leases did not exchange hands and costs were not affected as much. I have always been in watch and clock repairs.''
How have your customers reacted?
Grace: ''They say they are sorry to see us go.''
Talita: “They say, where am I going to buy my cat food from? Even if they come once every so often”.
Oscar: “The regulars are in a minority”.
The family would like to “thank all of their regular customers for supporting them over the last twenty years and they will sadly miss them”.
The future of the business is yet to be announced but Oscarsons will be closing its doors by the end of the month.
0208 840 2734
Best of luck to the Paklayan family
October 20th 2016
