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Vidal Sassoon is to close its salon in Cardiff – its only one in Wales – blaming falling customer numbers in its Capitol shopping centre location.

The company's managing director Jackie Lang said that the decline in footfall at the centre had "adversely affected the revenues and profit of the salon and we have been left with no alternative but to exit this location".

Ms Lang said that the Capitol shopping centre had suffered in recent years following the opening of the St David's shopping centre, and added: "With numerous retail units leaving the mall, it has resulted in a significant reduction of footfall."

She said: "During the last couple of months we have been working hard to negotiate with the landlord to understand the plans and timescales for the redevelopment of the centre, together with their current strategy to improve the customer visits.

"Unfortunately, timescales and plans were not sufficiently locked down to encourage us to sign a new lease for the business.

"In these circumstances, our first priority is always to the team and we have presented every team member with a number of options."

Redundancies

Eighteen staff working at the salon are affected at the closure. The company said it had been in consultation with staff but relocation to another store had not proved possible for many.

Ms Lang added: "We have been in consultation with them over the past few weeks and despite wanting to retain all of the amazing talent, unfortunately, as most of them have their lives in Cardiff, it is not been a suitable option for the majority to relocate to another part of the country with Sassoon; therefore their positions will fall redundant.

"However, there are a few team members who have requested transfers to London and Beverly Hills which we are currently exploring.

"We are continuing to support the leadership team of the salon to identify future opportunities available within Cardiff.

"This decision was not taken lightly and we are extremely disappointed Sassoon will no longer have a presence in Cardiff."

Capitol plans

In March the owner of Capitol shopping centre, New River, revealed plans for an extensive redevelopment.

The plans include a tower block with 100 apartments as well as new restaurant units in the main centre.

New River bought the centre, which first opened in 1999, two years ago.

It has suffered after the opening of the extended St David's shopping centre with many retail units now standing emty.

Charles Spooner, director of NewRiver, said: "The Capitol has an important role to play in the city and we are continuing to explore possibilities for a development to improve and enhance the centre, and complement the wider city centre retail and leisure offer.

"A great deal of work is taking place behind the scenes as part of a commitment to deliver a development which will complement the wider city centre retail and leisure offer.

"The Capitol is a major part of Cardiff's retail hub. We are looking forward to having the people of Cardiff help shape the future of the Capitol Centre, and we hope to share more information on this soon."