The imminent loss of one of Perth’s best known boutique stores has reinvigorated an old argument about the state of the city centre.
Fashion designer Kairen Ruse, of Blues and Browns, this week announced she was selling her South Street outlet after more than 15 years of trading.
She said she was forced to move her business out of the city centre and into new accommodation because of a series of “damaging” changes.
The reasons Ms Ruse gave for her reluctant move will be familiar to many traders in the area.
The rot set in, she says, when St John Street was pedestrianised in 2004. The closure of McEwen’s was the final nail in the coffin.
When it comes to changes shaping the future of the city centre area, she has been one of the city’s most outspoken businesswomen.
There are plenty of others who feel the same way, but are maybe less willing to stick their heads above the parapet.
The apparent lack of parking was a third factor repeatedly blamed for a downturn in footfall during a city centre row which reached boiling point last year.
Independent businesses are now facing a new worry with council bosses approving plans for a radical £10 million revamp of the old B&Q building at St Catherine’s retail park.
A further £30 million plan is pending for a massive cinema and shopping complex at Thimblerow.
Investment of this size for a growing place like Perth is a great thing on many levels.
The Mill Quarter plan for Thimblerow alone is expected to bring about 300,000 new shoppers into Perth each year, giving big name chains the chance to set up shop in the city and create scores of jobs.
But if not handled well, there could be a negative impact on existing stores in the city centre.
The McEwens managing director John Bullough himself warned about the effect of out-of-town outlets at a traders’ meeting last year.
“We have to realise we have made a critical error with out-of-town retail,” he said. “If we allow out-of-town retailers to have free parking, the city centre businesses are paying for the privilege of sustaining the town.”
Perth is well known for its unique stores and there was even talk of marketing the city as a hub for independent shopping.
If safeguards aren’t put in place though, the arrival of big name retailers could drive shoppers away from the city centre, and cause real damage to some of the city’s distinctive local stores.
And if Perth ends up like every other city centre in Scotland, then the battle has been lost.
