Top fashion store closes

A LEADING Edinburgh fashion retailer has shut up shop after falling victim to the recession.

Sam Thomas, which had shops in Stafford Street and William Street in the West End, has gone into liquidation after being in business for more than 15 years in the Capital.

Owner Samantha Withall was one of the leading business people in the area involved in the campaign to raise the profile of the area by rebranding it as The West End Village.

Bruce Cartwright, of PricewaterhouseCoopers, which is handling the assets of the company, said the wider economic downturn was behind the closure of Sam Thomas.

He said: "The company does seem to have suffered a reduction in income as a result of a decline in discretionary spending."