The Queer Emporium, an LGBTQ+ space on St Mary Street in Cardiff city centre, will close later this year. Owner Yan White said the closure is due to rising costs, including energy bills doubling, insurance premiums increasing by thousands of pounds, wage bills jumping, and service charges going up. White stated, 'Sadly as I'm sure that we all know it's not a great time for the high street and that is true for us as a small LGBTQ non-profit.
Trade is struggling to keep up with inflation. ' He added, 'This has resulted in me and my partner often having to go without pay and if it wasn't for the support of friends and family we wouldn't have realistically made it this far. ' The Queer Emporium has been open for five years at the St Mary Street entrance to the Royal Arcade.
Sadly as I'm sure that we all know it's not a great time for the high street and that is true for us as a small LGBTQ non-profit. Trade is struggling to keep up with inflation. Costs are going up faster than we can plan for and it just isn't sustainable to continue running a city centre operated site in these conditions.
White hopes to find a new location elsewhere in Cardiff. Separately, Molson Coors plans to close its national contact centre in Cardiff by the end of 2026. According to Molson Coors, the closure is due to a significant shift in customer behavior, with almost 90% of orders now placed online via the company’s website.
Customer service operations will be handled online and from Molson Coors' UK and Ireland headquarters in Burton upon Trent. The company also plans to shut Sharp’s Brewery in Cornwall by the end of the year. Simon Kerry, UK and Ireland managing director at Molson Coors, said, 'As our customers’ purchasing habits have become more digitally led over the past few years, we have evolved our business as part of our digitisation journey.
This has resulted in me and my partner often having to go without pay and if it wasn't for the support of friends and family we wouldn't have realistically made it this far. So a massive thank you to all of them.
The proposed closure of our national contact centre is no reflection on the brilliant work of our teams, but is in response to these changes. ' The closures are part of wider cost-cutting and efficiency measures and will be subject to a period of consultation.