Pearce Jewellers in King Street, which was founded by Herbert James Le Breton Pearce in 1909, made the announcement in April and is now due to move online.
Yesterday, an emotional Jane Pearce said she felt sad about moving on but was pleased that the shop space was going to be taken on by another well-established Jersey family-run business, Hettich.
‘I obviously have very mixed emotions. I am really going to miss being in the shop every day and dealing with the customers who have been incredible,’ she said.
‘It is the daily contact with people. Obviously we are here to make money but it has not felt like that. It feels as if we have been part of the community, as a community service, almost like a neighbour.
‘Some people, especially those who are elderly or who do not have English as their first language, have felt that we are the only people they can trust and have come to us for help filling in a form or we have had other elderly people ask us how they can get hold of the diabetic association.’
Mrs Pearce, wife of Peter, said that she took comfort in how Hettich, which also opened its doors more than 100 years ago, was taking over the space.
‘My family are really pleased that we have been able to sell to another local company of such a high calibre and long-standing reputation and another family business,’ she said.
‘We never put the shop on the market because we knew a big chain would try to buy it so the fact that a local business and neighbour of ours wanted to take the site on was a perfect scenario. I do not think the family could have sold it to anyone better.’
However, Mrs Pearce called on politicians to help St Helier retailers by making town more appealing by offering free parking at certain times.
‘All the time that people spend in shops in town they are putting money in everyone’s pockets,’ she said.
‘With paid parking, they are not looking around anywhere, they are not perusing different products. They are going to get what they need and then rush straight back to their car again.’
