A FASHION boutique in the heart of York is closing after 25 years with its owner warning that independent retailers are being "squeezed out".

Nicole Snowden, of Bleu Marine, in Low Petergate, has decided to retire when the lease on the clothes shop she runs with her husband, Les, expires at the end of May.

She said the time was right to bow out, particularly as York is becoming an increasingly more difficult place for small businesses.

News of the closure comes after The Press revealed that city centre shops feared poor trading conditions and rent rises could force them to shut.

As tourist bosses hailed a boom in visitors, anxious shopkeepers in Shambles said it had passed them by, partly blaming a hike in rents imposed by City of York Council, which defended the rise as "in line with prevailing conditions".

Nicole, a mother-of-two, first made her mark on York's shopping scene in 1969 with children's clothes shop Minouche in Goodramgate, which specialised in goods from her native France.

She then opened Bleu Marine, which caters for women in their 40s plus, with labels such as Laurel, Zapa, Anne Fontaine, St James and Sahara.

Nicole said her retirement was an emotional time.

"I have been in the business a long time. At my time of life I don't really want to do much more, and it would be a question of signing for ten years so it is the right time to finish.

"We know a lot of customers here. It is like leaving friends behind. I have had chocolates, flowers and cards." She warned that the personal touch within retail was in danger of disappearing.

"We can spend two hours with a customer and that's why people come here.

"There are not many places that are prepared to do that. There are plenty of big stores but customers are left to sort themselves out. People like the personal touch but it is a dying art.

"We are getting squeezed by the big stores more and more. York is getting harder for a business. There are almost too many shops for the number of people. When they open more and more shops, some will obviously suffer."

She also feels there is a gap in the market for older women.

"The shops cater more for the young people.

"Women of 40 plus have the money, they want to spend it if they find what they want, but there are not many places to go. I can't understand it."

On her retirement, Nicole is looking forward to enjoying time with her family - she has two sons, Nicolas and Christian, and is expecting a new grandson - and spending more time in her native France.

Updated: 09:20 Wednesday, May 03, 2006