Are hardware stores in Suffolk facing a fight for survival?

If you need a specific screw, a shovel, an extension lead, a power tool, or maybe just a simple lightbulb, your local independent hardware store probably has it in stock.

But is the demand for their services and products starting to wane?

Coopers shut all of its hardware stores across Suffolk last year, and Elmers Hardware, in Kesgrave, near Ipswich, is set to follow suit after 67 years.

So, what is contributing to the demise of hardware stores and should other shop owners be worried?

Bruce Salter, of The Handyman, in Eye, which sells “a little bit of everything”, said hardware stores in the county did “seem to be closing down quite a lot”.

“That seems to be the trend at the minute, but I don’t know what’s going wrong,” he says.

“I’m guessing that Amazon, B&Q and Homebase have a big effect, but the reason we’re thriving at the minute is we’re 20 miles away from any of those big places.

“We’re very lucky in our little town because we have lots of loyal customers who come in every day. It’s a struggle, but we, personally, are doing alright.”