A beloved Lancashire bakery firm will close its doors for good this weekend after 120 years.
Oddie’s, which employs more than 100 people across its 13 stores in Burnley, Colne, Foulridge, Nelson, Padiham and Todmorden, will be shutting up shop on Saturday (January 11). The announcement has left customers ‘devastated’ with many taking to social media to voice their shock and sadness.
LancsLive reported in November how the fourth-generation family bakery put the company up for sale due to soaring costs and declining footfall. Bosses said an eleventh-hour withdrawal by an un-named buyer had “left us with no choice but to consider closure”.
The firm had been looking to secure an urgent rescue deal to avoid closing all 13 locations and employed Azets the UK top ten accounting and advisory firm, alongside Brabners Solicitors, in a bid to secure its future. However, a statement on Oddie’s website this week read: “After 120 years we are closing our doors.
“The last day of trading will be Saturday 11th January. We have loved being part of your lives.”
Oddie’s customers have been sharing pictures of closure signs on social media. Posters in one shop said: “The last day to stock up will be Saturday 11th January. After 120 years we are closing our doors.”
Closure sign in an Oddie’s shop window
Harley Crook posted on Facebook saying: “It’s no joke. All Oddie’s close 11th Jan.” Zara Bon replied: “This is heartbreaking! First loss of 2025! Greggs just doesn’t hit the same.”
Loren Durkin wrote “Oh my word this is so sad” while Lauren McFadyen said “Devastated [heartbreak emoji]”.
Rio Lynch said: “120 years! Sad news man proper British company.” Emma Louise Mcmanus said: “I think the saddest part is not everyone that works there has a job to go to when it closes.”
Vicky Marie wrote: “Very sad , both of my children worked for Oddie’s over the years, one of them being a manageress. You pay for quality, Pound Bakery and Greggs can’t even be compared to them. If you pay cheap you get cheap. It’s not the staffs fault things have to be weighed. Many people out of jobs again, hopefully they have found something else, sad times.”
In a statement in November, Lara Oddie, director at Oddie’s, said: “Oddie’s is a fourth-generation family business, started in 1905 by William Henry Oddie. Over the decades, it has withstood two world wars and their food scarcity, the Great Depression, the fall of Lancashire’s cotton industry, the rise of powerful supermarkets, and even the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced us to adapt our entire operating model.
“But with an energy crisis quadrupling costs and footfall declining on the high streets, the Oddie family decided it was time to sell. Sadly, an eleventh-hour withdrawal by the buyer has left us with no choice but to consider closure.
“As a family firm, we have always seen ourselves as part of the local community fabric, making this a heartbreaking situation for us, our devoted staff, and the loyal customers in Burnley and Pendle who have cherished our our unique products.”
Subscribe to our daily newsletter LANCS LIVE NEWS and get all the biggest stories from across Lancashire direct to your inbox