MELKSHAM’S independent comic book shop, KomiX, has announced that it is to close after six years of trading, but the business has promised to not go quietly.
Speaking about why the decision to close has been made, owner Hayley Spencer said, “This has been something we’ve struggled with for a while now. Unfortunately, in the wake of the EU referendum result and the fall of the pound, our suppliers were forced to raise their prices as everything we sell is imported from the United States. This caused us to pass the price increase on to our customers in order to stay in business. It was a 30% rise, which I’m sure you can agree is huge.
“It turned a luxury product and enjoyable hobby, into something that just wasn’t a financial option for people who work hard and need to make their money stretch. So we saw people reducing how much they were spending, and getting less for their money, which is a huge shame for them and us as ultimately, we weren’t benefitting either.”
The shop will be closing at the end of July. “We’re planning on going out with a bang and will be holding a few clearance sale party days that we’ll be announcing on Facebook,” said Hayley. “The first one is on Saturday 10th June and we hope to have lots of people come down to grab bargains and a bit of cake!”
But this isn’t the last we’ll see of Hayley and her team at the Roundhouse. “Bookasaurus will be taking over the whole of the Roundhouse, allowing us to expand the offering we already have. We will have more defined sections and categories and cater for a wider range of interests, which is very exciting,” she said.
“Bookasaurus will be taking on the comic book subscription service, so people can still collect by way of pre-ordering with us and we can still order in any graphic novels people wish to have.
“I absolutely adore my customers, and being a part of the Melksham town centre community these past six years has done so much for me. We are absolutely gutted that KomiX won’t be continuing, but we are very excited about Bookasaurus and what new things we can bring to Melksham under this new flag.”
