It is a very sad reflection of the times we are in right now if an established company like Ethel Austin,which if I am correct were not the most expensive places to shop(if I am wrong I will stand corrected)in.Yes I think the current poor and frankly appalling economic climate has to bear a lot of the blame for this but there are in my opinion probably other factors that have to come into consideration too.Maybe the powers that be rested on their laurels where others caught up and overtaken,maybe the likes of the really cheap shops like Primark who sell stuff cheap(we all question how)and then of course the charity shops which there are plenty of these days do not help not only Ethel Austin but other retailers too.Unfortunately Ethel Austin will not be the last retailer that this will happen to,there will be more,and as for the economic climate,well I think this is by far the worst that I have ever seen in my nearly forty years on this earth,and there have been a few economic down turns in my life as well.