A family-run store, which has been kitting out thousands of children in shoes over the past 134 years, is set to close.

Hoads Kids Shoe Shop in London Road, Sevenoaks, has announced it is closing its doors in the next few months.

The store sells a variety of children's shoes, as well as providing specialist fitting for those with splints, leg length differences, pronation, hypermobility, orthotics and Sever's Disease.

It has been run by four generations of the same family since it first opened in 1889.

They claim to be one of the first in the country to have a "stand alone" children's-only shoe shop.

Last Tuesday (March 14), The company posted a heartfelt message on social media explaining why they have chosen to close.

It states: "Since Covid hit in early 2020, trading has been challenging to say the least.

"Despite offering a home fitting service and an online shop, our footfall has dropped significantly.

"This is a stark contrast to our trade in the early 2000s when we were selling over 35,000 pairs of kids shoes a year – it was not unheard of for families to travel 50+ miles to come and buy shoes from us.

"In recent months our costs have increased enormously, with a sevenfold increase in our electricity bill.

"Coupled with increased parking costs and a huge squeeze on our customers’ budgets, it’s now impossible to achieve the volume of business we need to survive."

It went on to say: "We’ve employed thousands of amazing people over the years.

"This has included lots of young students getting their first Saturday job who would subsequently bring their own children in to buy their first shoes years later.

"Thank you all for your loyalty."

Several customers expressed their sadness, with one saying: "I always bought my daughter’s shoes here.

"Such great customer service and I could be sure of good quality and a good fit – so important for toddlers feet. She is now 21!

"Wishing you luck for your future endeavours."

'Despite offering a home fitting service and an online shop, our footfall has dropped significantly...'

Another said: "Ahhhh, lovely childhood memories of all my shoes and the best pair of red buckled sandals, back in the 70s.

"Wishing you all the best for your final months. Thank you!"

Jonty Hoad is the manager of the store and has been working full time since 1993.

The 50-year-old from Shipbourne says the business was really hit during lockdown, when they were forced to take out loans to cover costs.

"We buy our stock seven or eight months in advance, so we didn’t anticipate Covid happening," he explained.

"I had already committed for around £120,000 of the stock, which arrived in early March 2020 when we closed.

"I had to do something. So I drove 5,000 miles throughout lockdown, delivering shoes all over Kent, Surrey and London. I contacted all my customers – 9,000 families on my phone – saying I was on the road if they wanted feet measured or shoes delivered.

"That got rid of 30% of the stock during that period, but it left us hugely in debt.

"Being a family-run business, we never had an overdraft or borrowed money during trading, but at this point we were nearly £100,000 in debt which was quite a scary thing."

Hoads is the second family-run store to close in the town during the last year.

Less than 70 yards down the road was The Hardware Centre, which shut last August after 50 years of trading.

Co-owner Julie Cornford spoke to KentOnline at the time and said both herself and her brother decided to retire.

Jonty added: "The reality is shopping habits changed during lockdown.

"People went to supermarkets to get their shoes and they got used to buying online.

"You would see people coming into our shop, get their feet measured, and be on their phones looking through Amazon – using us as a service but not to buy.

"That was kind of depressing."

Hoads shoe shop was first set up in 1889, by Jonty's great-grandfather, Charles Frank Hoad, who bought the building freehold and built the business from the ground up.

Grandfather, Hubert Charles Hoad (known as Toby), then took it over in 1933.

Jonty's grandmother took over the store while Toby was serving during the Second World War.

After the big baby boom during the 50s and early 60s, the store began to thrive.

Jonty said: "My dad, Timothy, and his twin brother William, took on the business in 1960.

"It was quite unusual at the time to have a shop dedicated to children's shoes.

"During the back-to-school period, we would do about 3,000 appointments.

"We became a real destination place, people travelled miles and miles to visit. I reckon we have sold somewhere between 3.5 and 5 million pairs."

Hoads Kids Shoe Shop is now having a closing down sale and hopes to remain open until the end of September.

Jonty says he plans to work-full time with his wife, Alex, who runs a number of kids nurseries throughout the county, called Tinkers and Tribe.