AFTER 16 years in business, one of Warwick’s biggest furniture stores is about to be shelved.

At the end of October, Warwick Furniture Court will close its doors.

Owner Steve Oakland said increasing rents and an economic downturn forced his hand.

“Over the last two and half to three years, the business has taken a down turn,” he said.

“Business has just kept going down.

“Although my stuff is all nice and new, business has really slowed down.”

The furniture court store is the second long-time Warwick business to announce its closure in less than a month.

Just two weeks ago, Civic Video closed down.

The furniture court closure will create a third empty building at the corner of Guy and Grafton Streets.

While Mr Oakland didn’t want to talk Warwick down, he said retail business in town was dying.

“I used to have three staff here,” he said.

“They’ve all gone now.

“That’s three less jobs in town.”

With a sea change on his mind, the furniture store owner reflected on some of his fondest memories of Warwick.

Mr Oakland said he’d really enjoyed his time in the Warwick community.

“I’ll miss the locals, they’ve always been good to me,” he said.

“I get on really well with the customers.

“I’ve always been community minded, sponsoring some of the clubs in town.”

Over the next five months, the focus for Mr Oakland will be clearing out stock and getting everything in order.

“I can’t take all the stock with me so all I’m aiming to do is get my money back,” he said.

“I’ll be doing deals and reducing prices to clear stock.

“There’s plenty of bargains to be had.”

The furniture court closure comes as work begins on the Rose City Shoppingworld development.

Mr Oakland said he couldn’t wait around to see if the development would be positive for his business.