Ruby Moon in High Wycombe is closing in April after 25 years due to declining sales since 2021.
The shop sold jewelry and hair dye, along with ornaments and accessories. It first opened back in October 1998. Matt said he will miss the people the most, never knowing who would walk in next.
People would chat for hours, sometimes without buying anything. Matt said 99% of folks were lovely. The last 25 years were a rollercoaster, though lately, things got tough.
Several shops are leaving High Wycombe; Air Raid Café and Collectibles R Us are gone. Beaverbrooks left the Eden Centre too, and Quirks Hairdressers closed New Year’s Eve.
Matt said their foot traffic dropped a lot, their sales halved since 2021. That year was actually their best one. He blames websites like Shein and Amazon, where people can order directly from China.
They did not break even until after Christmas Day, this year, around December 28 or 29. They had lots of Christmas stock left over. December was disappointing overall.
Matt and Claire will do pop-up events and plan to be at the Arts Centre sometimes. He appreciates the community’s support so much; it was great being in Wycombe.
A woman came in after the news broke, saying she’d been visiting since childhood and is now in her 30s with her own kids. She hugged Matt, and he started crying, very thankful for her.