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Sad news! A beloved book and art shop in Covent Garden is closing its doors forever this week after 26 years of trading. Magma on Shorts Gardens announced on social media that it would be shuttering for good on Friday, January 16.
The red-fronted shop is known for its curated selection analogue media, including books, indie magazines and prints, as well as selling things like games, gifts, jewellery and cards.
In an emotional farewell Instagram post, the shop said that ‘greed’ from their landlords had led to the decision to close the Covent Garden shop. The owners wrote: ‘We started Magma in this area 26 years ago, and our long-time landlords have decided that our time to leave has now come. In their words: “the current level where the market is at the moment, is not a level that could be sustained by Magma”.’
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‘It is with very heavy hearts that we will be leaving this once vibrant, creative retail neighbourhood,’ the post added. ‘We are moving out of an area where almost every small, independent retail business has been pushed out, an area which was undoubtedly more interesting when we moved in and which is now almost identical to every other high street.’
Magma Covent Garden is having a closing down sale until its final day this week, with 40 percent off most items in the store. And don’t despair too much because this isn’t the total end of Magma – the shops’s kiosk in King’s Cross will remain open.
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