Devastated shoppers have said that it is the ‘end of an era’ for Reading after House of Fraser announced its closure next month.

This comes as the department store posted a notice on their window that they would be closing their doors in October 2023.

After opening in 1999, the store has been a much-loved staple for many residents over the years. The closure comes as a disappointment for some, whereas others say that they are ‘not surprised’.

A former House of Fraser employee said that she was ‘gutted’ to see the closure after so many years.

Lyndsey Gould said: “I worked in House of Fraser for nearly 10 years & am gutted that Hammerson (who owns The Oracle) & the council have finally got their way.

“HoF was the anchor of The Oracle, what’s a shopping centre without a department store? There was a condition in the original contract from 1997 which stated that HoF & the old Debenhams unit could only be used as department stores.

“Why has this been allowed to change? There’s been no consideration for people losing their jobs, who now have to go out searching in an already competitive market.”

With many shops disappearing from the high street, the age of spending a day shopping in town may be coming to an end.

Karen Boyle said: “The end of retail therapy looms.”

One popular opinion surrounding the reason for closure is the ‘use it or lose it’ approach. Due to the popularity of online shopping, many people often choose not to frequent the high street.

Former retail worker, Helen Anderson however contradicted this opinion. She said: “Online is dropping. Customers shopping in-store and online are getting closer & closer to evening out. People are coming back to the shops.

“Unfortunately it’s all a knock-on effect from the pandemic when they had to stay shut and cost of living, they haven’t had time to recover. It was a lot to go with online but thankfully that’s beginning to turn just not soon enough for some. Retailers have always said “Use it or lose it”