50-year-old North London stationery store struggling to survive this winter

Image by MyLondon

A shop in North London is struggling to stay afloat due to massive price hikes.

Owned by Taha Gulamhusein, Highgate Stationers, located on Highgate High Street, has been up and running for the last 50 years. Now, due to the sharp rise in inflation, the shop has faced price hikes of almost 50 per cent for its supplies, MyLondon reports.

He said, “All our supplies have increased. We sell helium balloons and the cost of helium and petrol is bought in dollars, so the price of helium has gone up. The cost of everything has gone up by almost 50 per cent in some cases.”

Highgate Stationers was initially run by Taha’s father, who retired 10 years ago due to worsening health. Since then, it is being run by Taha and his brother. The shop used to house a local post office at the back until it was shut down in 2007 due to cuts in postal service.

The storeowner alluded to the fact that High Street has changed a lot since his father and uncle first opened the shop in 1979. He said, “There used to be much more diversity on the High Street, there was a garden centre, an art shop, a hardware shop.

“Now there’s not much on this high street so it doesn’t really attract shoppers. The local shoppers go down to Archway or Muzwell because there’s more of a range of shops down there.

“The shop is quiet. July is okay. Because it’s a private school area the summer holidays are two months instead of six weeks. In Highgate, you get more people coming for services like key cutting and printing. It’s less about products and goods.”

Taha told MyLondon about discussing the issue with other local shop owners who confirmed that their shops don’t see a lot of visitors either. “It’s weather dependant as well. If it’s raining all day nobody’s really out and about.”

He added that due to the price hikes, many people have left the area. “A lot of people since my father’s time have moved because Highgate’s quite an expensive area. There isn’t a government secondary school nearby so a lot of people move out.”

The ongoing cost of living crisis has affected many families and businesses across the country. With rising prices of commodities, energy and gas, the country faces a dire situation that needs to be overcome through proper government planning and policies.