A beloved town centre clothes store is set to close after struggling to compete with the growth of online shopping.

Maison Classique Emporium in William Street, Herne Bay, will shut its doors before December 24 after trading for nine years.

Its owner, Linda Cameron, says the shop’s earnings have fallen over the past two winters to the point where it is no longer viable

“In the winter, bearing in mind footfall in the town, the retail pie isn’t big enough to divide between so many shops,” she said.

“When I first came to Herne Bay I was the only person running this type of store in the town, but since then there’s been a multitude of people selling very similar merchandise.

“Internet sales have also made it really difficult to carry on. It would have been an ego trip to keep it going because it doesn’t make any business sense.”

Ms Cameron says she spent “thousands of pounds on building websites” that proved to be “total failures”.

Her decision to sell the shop was also influenced by the imminent openings of the Oasis and Sainsbury’s superstore in Altira Business Park.

“They will sell clothes and people don’t need a dress every week of the year,” she said.

“Over the last couple of years I’ve been saying ‘if this year’s bad I’ll think about closing’ and that’s what I’ve done.”

Ms Cameron sold the premises to Nathan Rivers, who owns Mustard in William Street and Alice and the Hatter.

He is hoping to convert the store into an indoor market space containing up to 23 stalls selling artwork, jewellery and clothing. He aims to open it on January 4.

Space will be available for traders to rent at £7 per day. Ms Cameron will be one of those running a stall in the building.

Mr Rivers is aiming to open the market, which he is yet to decide on a name for, on January 4.