Sauchiehall Street: Retailers say street is 'beyond saving' after new major Glasgow store closure

It is the latest blow to Glasgow’s troubled high street and comes just weeks after it was announced that the city centre's oldest Marks and Spencer, located on the same street, is also set to close its doors in April.

Jamie O'Neill, owner of Hotspot Mobile on the same street said: "The dominoes have fallen down one by one on Sauchiehall Street.

"I watched it become a run-down Gotham city and believe Sauchiehall Street is beyond saving.

"Our landlords have demanded rent that we can't afford and are forcing us out.

"I have put everything into keeping my store running and my colleagues have also sacrificed because we had hope that things would return to normal. It won't.

"No one is coming to help and it's soul-destroying."

Sports Direct is the latest retailer to close its doors on Sauchiehall Street

Once one of Glasgow’s most famous streets, Sauchiehall Street has seen numerous closures in recent years, in part caused by the loss of footfall to shops as retail becomes increasingly digital. 

After more than a century, Watt Brothers entered administration in 2019 and closed the doors of its flagship historic Glasgow store on Sauchiehall Street in December that year.

Dozens of shoppers who had been regulars at the department store for decades saw the closure as a devastating blow.

READ MORE: Marks & Spencer Sauchiehall Street 'to close' in Glasgow

The former BHS premises on the same street has lain empty since 2015, but Glasgow City Council have approved plans for an unknown major retailer to move in to sell ‘food and non food’ items.

Cosmetics giant Lush also closed its Sauchiehall Street shop in 2019 after 16 years, with plans to focus on their Buchanan Street, Glasgow Fort and Braehead branches.

In recent years, shops which brought footfall to the area such as Sainsbury’s, Argos, Schuh, Topman, Burton, and Greaves have also closed up, leaving a number of derelict units on the city’s ‘Style Mile’. 

Historic store Watt Brothers was a major loss to the street

Glasgow’s retail offering has continued to shrink throughout the pandemic and 2021 saw the closure of Thorntons and Gap.

Stuart Patrick, chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce said that coronavirus restrictions and two major fires have accelerated pre-existing retail trends.

Mr Patrick said: “There is no debate that the Coronavirus restrictions have accelerated the pre-existing trend from bricks and mortar to online shopping. There were already well-rehearsed industry predictions that demand for high street retail space would reduce by as much as 30% from its peak.

“It is plain to see those forecasts playing out at a very acute level on Sauchiehall Street, with it also suffering two major fires that have left prominent derelict sites in their wake.

“We never want to see businesses leave the High Street and whilst the news is disappointing, this should act as a further reminder that more needs to be done to protect and support businesses of all sizes.

“We are seeing some action in this space which our members have rightly seen as positive steps forward in addressing the concerns of city centre businesses.

“Two of the largest investors in Glasgow retail property are now engaging with the City Council and demonstrating their desire to help make the changes the city centre needs with ambitious plans for St Enoch's and Buchanan Galleries. 

“Both have carried out extensive market assessments and can marshal the finances needed to move their assets from a dominant retail focus to a richer mix of services that could add real diversity. 

“It is through ambitious developments like these that we will see a reversal in fortunes, and we can begin to build out the future of Glasgow’s High Street.”

Marks & Spencer announced its Sauchiehall Street closure just weeks ago

A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: “It is generally accepted that on-street retailing is facing pressure everywhere, and Glasgow is no exception to this.  

“The rise of online shopping - accelerated by the pandemic - means that town and city centres will have to adapt in order to continue to thrive.  

“In Glasgow, these trends were already apparent and we have a number of strategies and projects in place to ensure that the city centre will be an attractive place in which to live, work, study, visit and invest.  

“Key amongst these plans is the aim to double the city centre population by 2035, the work of the City Centre Task Force to address the impact of the pandemic, the Avenues programme – with a pilot scheme already complete at Sauchiehall Street, between Charing Cross and Rose Street – and a framework to guide the development of the nine city centre districts by using the unique strengths and characteristics of each.  

“The future ‘high street’ will in all likelihood be different from the current model, with a mixed-use approach taken to ensure they are sustainable and vibrant places.”