A JEWELLERS in Maldon will close after its owners decided to retire after eight years at the helm.

Alan and Sue Outlaw have been running Chameleon Jewellery on Maldon High Street since 2010.

Sue, 59, originally began working at the store at its old high street location – now Specsavers – as a Saturday assistant 14 years ago, before being trained to be a manager, eventually taking over the store in 2010.

In 2013, they moved premises up to 30A, opposite All Saints Church, and have operated there ever since.

Now, Sue and Alan will be retiring from the business to spend more time with their grandchildren, with Alan continuing his work with T-shirt printing in Braintree.

Alan, also 59, said: “It was coming to the time where Sue and I were both approaching 60, and it’s always been Sue’s plan to retire at that age; I think she’s looking forward to spending some more time with our grandchildren.

We did try to sell the business to pass it on as a going concern, but nothing came to fruition.”

Alan and Sue have thanked all of their customers and supporters. Alan said: “This past week has been wonderful, we’ve had a large response from well-wishers coming into the shop.”

Sue said: “Maldon is a magical place to shop with some very lovely people and we will miss them.

“The High Street is facing many challenges particularly from the internet, but the internet cannot extend the warmth we have felt from the comments from our loyal customers.”

Chameleon Jewellery is having a closing down sale until their final day of business on January 27.

An application was submitted to Maldon District Council to change the use of the store to a café and coffee shop, but this was refused last Tuesday