It’s almost as though the staff have stepped out for lunch.
Shoppers in Arbroath’s High Street are accustomed to seeing empty retail units but passers-by have been perplexed by a store that is closed for business and yet is still brimming with stock.
The Happit clothing store shut its doors around two years ago.
A quickly-penned message, peeling slowly from the front door glass, conveys the staff’s sadness and sorrow at the closure.
In the time since, the retail unit leased by Happit has been available for let or possible sale but, despite sporadic interest, no one has been found to occupy the store.
Local councillor David Fairweather recognised that there are too many empty retail units in Arbroath High Street but stressed that other traditional high streets in Scotland suffer the same problem and many are in a much worse position.
He said landlords were all too often at fault and should be more realistic about the rents they set.
If they failed to budge, he said, the Scottish Government should step in.
Mr Fairweather said: “Arbroath High Street does need investment.
“Clearly there are empty shops that need filled but I feel you have to blame the landlords why do they still think they can get astronomical rates when it just leaves shops empty?
“It’s something that I feel the Scottish Government really has to take a look at. It’s not just a problem for Arbroath, after all.
“There is work to be done, but it has to start with the Government. They need to make it clear and say ‘if you’re going to leave properties empty, then we will charge you full rates’.”
Mr Fairweather suggested a similar tactic to that introduced to tackle vacant private housing.
Since last year, landlords can see their council tax bill doubled if their properties lie empty too long.
He said: “Maybe bringing in something in line with that and enforcing it would make a difference. We want to be able to give our young and new entrepreneurs a chance to open a business and have them revitalise our high street.”
The Happit store has the fashions of three winters ago upon tightly-packed rails and it has been suggested that the clothes might be donated to local charity shops.
Calls and emails to Happit went unanswered. However, it is understood that the stock cannot be disposed of due to on-going legal wrangles after the chain went into administration.