An iconic department store in New Malden announced it will close after over 100 years this week (March 4).

The Tudor Williams department store traded from its site at 53-59 High Street for over a century.

In a press release which accompanied the announcement, a spokesperson for the store said they were "greatly saddened" by the decision and announced a massive closing sale during the final weeks of trading.

Tudor Williams said: "One of the areas most loved family-run department stores, Tudor Williams, is greatly saddened to announce its intention to close after over 100 years of trading in New Malden and shall embark on a Great £1,000,000 Store Closing Sale, beginning Friday May 17, with a final closure date of Saturday June 29."

Managing Group Director John Morris meanwhile described the context of spiralling costs and the wider difficulties faced by high street retailers in recent years as having influenced the decision.

Mr Morris said: "Despite the tremendous effort by our New Malden management and staff and the extensive refurbishment, the store has unfortunately not seen the necessary improvement in sales.

"With ongoing rising costs, and the tough retail climate, it is with the greatest of reluctance we have concluded that we are unable to continue trading at the store."

"Neither our Dorking store nor our sister store, Elphicks of Farnham, which has recently undergone a major refurbishment, are affected by this decision and will continue to trade as normal."

Tudor Williams said that they will sell all stock ahead of the closure, while any "special orders" would be handled by sister store Elphicks of Farnham.

The Lynch Sales Company, sales event specialists based in Chattanooga, Tennessee (US), who also have a branch office in Emsworth, UK, will coordinate the sale.

The department store began life as a small corner shop in 1913 according to information on the Tudor Williams website:

"Mr Tudor Williams came to New Malden from Wales in 1913 and purchased a small corner shop. Initially the business concentrated on Millinery and Haberdashery and over the years this was developed by both Mr and Mrs Williams, with the business acquiring adjacent properties as the range of stock began to develop."