Costs becoming unbearable, business leader warns

Cornwall Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Brown said online discounts were hitting high street businesses

Business leaders have been reflecting on the fortunes of high street retail amid uncertainty over the future of a discount store.

On Wednesday Trago Mills said management were in talks with staff after rising costs and diminishing sales had led to six-figure deficits at its Falmouth branch.

Cornwall Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Brown said "the cost of doing business is becoming unbearable" and his heart went out to Trago staff whose jobs were being reviewed.

Falmouth town manager Richard Gates said it was "very tough on the high street" and urged people to support their local shops.

Mr Gates said: "People can do so much in terms of making sure the numbers add up but if it is too tough then tough decisions have to be made."

He said Trago on Arwenack Street was "an anchor" in that part of the town but businesses were facing costs that had "gone through the roof".

Mr Brown said he thought customers were watching their spending and taking advantage of online discounts which he said were "decimating some of the high street options".

"We have to restimulate the economy and that starts by creating positive conditions for growth," he said.

Trago Mills said its Falmouth branch was posting six-figure losses

Trago Mills said the combination of high energy and taxation costs and "at best, flat sales" had led the business "to a point where it cannot continue to absorb the Falmouth store's losses any longer".

It said they were working to find "an amenable solution" and a "thorough review" was taking place.