A MAJOR women's fashion store is pulling out of Fareham and Winchester.

After 64 years Hamells has decided to call it a day and is to close its store in Fareham shopping precinct on March 25. Its store in Winchester will also close.

Hamells, whose headquarters is at London Colney, Hertfordshire, has 75 stores countrywide.

General manager Don Maclean blamed brand names and discount stores for squeezing out the shops in the middle market.

"We have seen what has happened to Marks & Spencer and it has happened to us," he said today.

"It is very sad for us and our hundreds of staff as we have been about for so long. But we decided we could not compete against these other kinds of shops.

"Rather than keep our staff hanging on we decided on a clean break.

"We have always prided ourselves on staff training and good customer relations and it is not surprising to hear our staff are being offered positions with other companies."

The news about Hamells is another blow to Fareham shopping centre as Richards, which is part of the Arcadia Group, is also pulling out in a month's time.

The Arcadia Group owns many different clothing shops including Dorothy Perkins, already in the shopping precinct, Top Shop, Evans, Burton Menswear, Wade Smith, SU214 and Principles.

It operates about 2,000 stores in urban Britain and has 60 franchised stores in continental Europe and the Middle East.

It is now branching out into the catalogue market and its present stable boasts Racing Green and Hawkshead.

Its top competitors are Next, Marks & Spencer and House of Fraser and it regards itself as the number two clothing retailer behind Marks & Spencer.

Fareham Shopping Centre manager Robert Hall said that, while the two chains may have been failing nationally, they had a faithful customer base in the precinct.

"They have both traded very well compared with their national figures," he said.

He confirmed that Dorothy Perkins would be taking over Richards' premises and would hopefully be installed by April.

The present Dorothy Perkins store in the shopping centre will make way for a different shop.

Mr Hall is keen that Hamells will be re-placed by a shop appealing to the same customers. But he added that the disappearance of the two shops would not affect the future of the shopping centre.

"Neither of the shops is an anchor store. Although they do well in the centre, their disappearance won't have an enormous impact."

"We are confident we will find replacement stores. Clothing shops are certainly on our agenda."

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.