A COMIC book store in Stretford is set to close as a rise in costs continues to take its toll on the borough's businesses.

A branch of Wow Comix opened in Stretford Mall in December 2020, but struggled to make its mark due to a coronavirus lockdown soon afterwards.

It reopened after lockdown and it held Stretford's first comic book festival in October, but it is now to close on March 26.

According to a post on the store's website, there are a number of reasons for the closure, such as a rise in business rates, staff costs and utilities costs, combined with a fall in footfall at the shopping centre on Chester Road.

But Wow Comix also revealed it was not warned of the now approved demolition and redevelopment of Stretford Mall, which it said risked added disruption to the store after an already inauspicious start to its time in the town.

READ MORE: Stretford Mall's demolition and redevelopment APPROVED.

The post reads: "In the circumstances, taking all this into consideration, we have come to the conclusion that it's simply not worth staying in Stretford."

Wow Comix thanked its customers for their support in its 16 months or so in Stretford.

The post adds: "We would like to thank all of our customers for being such loyal supporters since we moved into Stretford. We are disappointed about the store closure, but we do not see this as the end for our business in the area, and we do intend to reopen in another location as and when we find a suitable opportunity to do so."

Other branches of the store remain in Bury and Stockport, with the business also set to open an office in Denton to run its successful online operations.