A UK city is set to lose a shop that is the "last of its kind" after almost 40 years of trading. The family-run shop in Birmingham city centre opened in 1987 and will close its doors for good on Good Friday (April 18).

Sims Footwear, at Great Western Arcade, is the last remaining independent shoe shop in the city. Its owner Paul Lamb said the business has suffered since the Covid-19 pandemic and increased business costs. He thanked customers for their support over the years.

As reported by Birmingham Live, he said in a note on the shop window: "We would to take this opportunity to thank all our customers near and far for supporting us during this time. As a small independent business, it has meant a great deal.

"Reduced footfall after Covid, increased business costs and a change in how customers now shop means we can no longer support a retail outlet."

He has also explaind how the high street has changed since the shop opened. Paul said the rise of online shopping has damaged his business.

Paul said: "There was more of everything back then, more shops, more people. And of course you couldn't shop online either.

"We opened during a shopping boom. People started getting credit cards! So the 80s and 90s were a boom time for the high street."

Paul added: "Back in the 90s or early 00s we could pay the extortionate business rates so it didn't matter as much. But we can't afford it any more. That's why all the shops are starting to close down.

"Maybe there's been too many shopping centres built and not enough houses... It's easy to look back and think you had all the answers."

When Sims Footwear opened almost 40 years ago, there were around 20 shoe shops in Birmingham city centre. However, only a few remain, with stores like Clarks in the Bullring and Deichmann on the High Street among the last stores that focus solely on footwear.

Paul said: "Maybe people don't need a dedicated shoe shop anymore. Small shops are extortionately expensive compared to the bigger shops per square foot so it's much harder again.

"If you look around the city, there's not much outside of the Bullring now. The independents aren't going to take two or three thousand square foot in the Bullring, you're going to take 500sq ft on the high street, but comparitively they're more expensive.

"Everything's a big shop now. Compared to how things were even just 20 years ago, shops are massive."

He continued: "We deal with brands that are quite small in the grand scheme of things. They're not Nike or Adidas, they don't take over the world but they get a loyal following, mainly because of little shops like us.

"They're not small companies but they probably couldn't open up a huge shop in the Bullring. They sit really nicely in a shop like this."

Paul said that he's been working hard in the run-up to closure and that he hasn't had time for the emotions of closing to sink in.

He explained: "It's hard but to be honest, I've been so busy just trying to get us out that I haven't had time to stop and think about it. They say that, don't they? 'Keep busy'?