Moni Boutique in Bournemouth closes permanently

Moni Boutique in the Burlington Arcade opened in July 2018 to offer "completely different fashion trends" to Bournemouth shoppers.

But owner Monika Theodoris, 36, has announced her shop will be shutting its doors for good on Sunday, April 25 due to a decrease in footfall in the town and personal circumstances.

The store, which stocks ladieswear, footwear, bags and accessories, has now launched an "everything must go" 50 per cent off sale to clear stock before it closes.

Monika, who has lived in Bournemouth for over 14 years, said: "The lease for the shop is finishing next month, and we initially thought we would find a different location, but we didn't due to Covid and decreasing footfall.

"The main issue is that when you walk through the high street, everything is closing down, it's very grotty and there are no big names to bring people into the town.

"I can't afford the rent in the high street, and we need to relocate anyway due to my husband Nick's work commitments. The footfall in the town centre is not worth it, so this is a perfect time for us to relocate to Poland."

When Monika informed her customers that the boutique was closing, they believed it was due to the pandemic.

However, this is not the case.

Monika said: "The pandemic affected the shop a bit, but we still had an income by offering online shopping. The high street is not affordable and small retailers like myself have to look elsewhere to make money.There is nothing here in Bournemouth and the prices of shops do not help.

"It is a shame that we're leaving as I have been working so hard to build the brand up. I have won awards and been recognised by global fashion icon Gok Wan, plus the business has been picking up really nicely, but since Covid it all went downhill as people were not coming into the town.

"We are looking forward to our new adventure."

Monika will reopen Moni Boutique in Poland and will continue to offer online shopping.