Two shops in Dockyard have already closed and a third is set to shut its doors at the end of the month as the West End takes a beating from a drop in the retail sector.

But shop owners who are staying open at Dockyard have urged residents to support the area and do their Christmas shopping in the area.

"I would urge Bermudians to come to Dockyard and do their shopping, " said Audrey Brackstone, manager of the Bermuda Craft Market. "A lot of people do not know just how much the Craft Market offers or how many interesting things the Clocktower Mall has in its stores."

And she urged Bermudians to support their local stores and think about travelling to Dockyard to shop in stores that are open seven days a week.

The first store to close in the area following September 11 was Smugglers Reef in the Clocktower Mall a month ago.

Next to go was "Gifts from the Seven Seas" which closed two weeks ago and was one of the few places on the Island selling Cuban cigars.

And next month the children's section of Makin' Waves will close up after the store failed to reach sales targets for its wares.

Most stores have recorded a decline in sales in line with Hamilton stores, and the global fall in retail sales since the terrorist attacks of September 11.

"They thought they were hurting America, but they hurt the whole world," said Emily Burgess, manageress of Picturesque Gallery which sells Roland Skinner photographs in the Clocktower. "It is slow for now, but I expect it to pick up later. People who are going home for Christmas want to take a bit of Bermuda with them and we do well out of that. It slowed right down after September 11 and we are waiting for it to pick right up."

Val Smith, manageress at E.R. Aubrey Dockyard store said: "The fortunate thing is that we still have a job."

She said the jewellers was waiting for Christmas for things to pick up, but along with Crissons, both stores in the mall appear to be fairing better than many of their counterparts.

She said: "If we got people to come to Dockyard, we would do better. It is a great place to shop, and there are lots of interesting things for sale here."

Beethoven's has closed for dinner for the season and will only be open for breakfast and lunch for the quiet off-season.

One new store in the mall, The Littlest Drawbridge, appears to be bucking the trend and appeals both to locals and tourists alike with both ethnic African wares and cedar wood on sale.

The shop assistant said trade was mixed, but the store was being discovered by new people every day.

Caesar's Health Store also reported mixed fortunes, and is now bringing in a number of gift items for locals. The store said it had been expecting this year to be a little better than last year, but so far this had not happened.

But overall it has been a quiet month so far this year. Yesterday there were just a handful of tourists in Dockyard with virtually no rental bikes parked in the bays by the docks.

Mrs Brackstone said: "For those that do not ordinarily visit Dockyard and go to Hamilton, I would say it is worth a visit."