Sombre Mothercare staff sit together as a few shoppers scramble to get hold of any leftover bargains on the store's final day.
It's been known for a while that the company was in trouble and before Christmas it was announced the popular chain was shutting for good.
Many of the 60 staff at the Manchester Fort store were there when it first opened in the summer of 2015.
With just a couple of days' trading left before today's final day, there's a sombre mood among the workers, the Manchester Evening News reports.
They're not saying much and there's a dazed look on their faces as they contemplate that this really is the end of Mothercare.
Much of the store has been blocked off to customers and the remaining space is dotted with half empty shelves and rails.
There are a few maternity bras and costumes, as well as shorts and sun hats for little ones. Even with the hefty closing down discounts, none of them are that much cheaper than you'd fine elsewhere.
And that's perhaps been the main problem for this struggling chain - the cost. The stickers showing the original prices - £15 for a summer dress, £16 for dungarees and a T-shirt - are double what you'd pay in a supermarket.
And for as much as generations have shopped there since it was founded in 1961, consumer habits have clearly changed.
Our love of online shopping coupled with our need to cut spending, has sent us elsewhere - creating a ticking time bomb for places like Mothercare.
So if it wasn't the prices that pulled shoppers in, what was it?
"My daughter is 17-months-old and I got everything for her from here," says mum Christina Robinson.
"I'm having another child and I don't know where I'm going to go for everything."
The 26-year-old, who lives in Failsworth, added: "It's the quality of the clothing I like and I got her pram from here as well.
"When I came in asking about products they gave me so much information about how long she could stay in this pram and things like that.
"And when I got her car seat they installed it and made sure it was fitted correctly. You don't get that staff experience at other places."
Laura Baker, mum to 20-month-old Ella, agrees.
She said: "When I was a child my mum came here for things for me and it's disheartening that it won't be here anymore.
"I think it's because people are shopping online a lot more, but I like this place because you can actually come here to see what you're buying and it's got everything under one roof - you don't have to go shopping around."
Naima Ashur, from Cheetham Hill, has two older children, aged 13 and 20, but says she'll still miss the store.
"If friends have babies I would get something here because it's a bit more special," she said. "They have nice outfits to give as presents."
The queue at the till is a short one and staff seem busier dealing with the sales of fixtures and fittings than anything else.
A giant board near the front of the store lists photos and prices of everything up for grabs.
From clothing rails to mannequins of children and pregnant women, every single thing in this place is up for sale, including the lighting.
And it's dark times indeed for the staff forced to watch as the place is torn apart before their very eyes.
A shopper passes by with a trolley full of goods, among them a box labelled 'absolutely futureproof'.
The powers that be clearly didn't think the same for the failing firm.
Worker Victoria was one of the staff to transfer here from the Ancoats store.
"We knew a lot of the stores shut last year as part of the restructuring of the business but we thought we'd stay open," she said.
"We found out just before Christmas that it was closing. It's very sad and we're all upset."
Next to the till is a whiteboard at the top of which it's written 'R.I.P Mothercare Manchester August 2015 - January 2020'.
Underneath that staff have been leaving their own messages.
"Thank you to our loyal customers", the majority say.
It's just a shame there weren't more of them around to save it.
