8/8 ONE YEAR ON: At least one shop on London Road has had to accept a lower compensation figure just to be able to open its shutters once again, writes ANDREW PELLING
Mithus jewellers in London Road was completely trashed by the riots in August last year. Some especially valuable pieces were lost, taken by looters.
The London Road jewellers has taken longer than other shops to recover after last year’s riots
The partially opened shutter to the store after being ripped out of its fittings was a long-time testament to the destruction that had passed through that fateful night.
Such was the blow to the business that it was not until the late spring that the business was back up on its feet, much later than other shops nearby. Prospects had not been aided by a dispute in the courts with Croydon Trading Standards over an assay issue in which the shop was found to have misled a customer.
Even today, there are signs of the impact of the 8/8 troubles if you look closely enough.
Major pieces of valuable jewellery are now stored off-site. Staffing has been cut from eight to three, and the business has cut its advertising budget to the bone.
Reflecting the changed economic circumstances in London Road, half of the shop is being set up for pawnbroking.
The owner is upbeat, though, saying that “all the customers have come back”.
They have settled for a lower riot compensation with the Metropolitan Police, just to get things moving, though they report having been chastised by officials from Croydon Council for daring to talk about his difficulties.
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