Shaws the Drapers enters voluntary liquidation after an extremely challenging year

Shaws the Drapers has been selling modern, affordable soft furnishings for 106-years, boasting 28 shops in Wales and England. Of these, 3 are located in Cardiff: Ely, Roath and the Queens Arcade.

The company is known as Shaws Direct online, and has its registered office address in the St Mellons area of Wales' capital city.

However in the morning of 27 December, a believed 150 staff received an email from owner Philip Shaw confirming the closure of the business, mentioning that it had been an "extremely challenging year" and that "the business is no longer viable". Screenshots of it were later shared on social media.

The message ended with: 

"I hope that you will understand that after 100 years of trading, this hasn't been an easy decision for us to make, and we fully appreciate the consequences for you, but the business simply is not viable and we cannot see a way of making it so."

"Thank you for your loyal service and support and we wish you every success for the future."

The company had fallen into voluntary liquidation and formally ceased trading on Friday, 23 December, liquidators say.

It is known that staff will be contacted within the next few days, explaining how they will be paid their notice pay and redundancy entitlement.

Empty shelves at Shaws the Drapers earlier this month - Credit: BBC

Staff of the company have been outraged upon the news, with one employee saying: "they don't care about us."

The future of Shaws the Drapers has been questioned for a while now. Earlier this month, staff were informed that no new stock was to be ordered to its warehouses before Christmas, and that all stock that was remaining will be sold off at bargain prices.

Former members of the Shaws workforce have now been given references to give to any prospective employer.

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