A LEADING retailer called last night for extra support for struggling town centres as he prepared to close the doors on a business that has been trading for more than half a century.
Donald Begg said soaring rates and rent bills and the drain of customers to out-of-town shopping complexes had sounded the death knell for the store in Marischal Street, Peterhead.
The director of family-run Begg Shoes and Bags criticised planning decisions made by councillors – which he said had also been a factor in the closure of the firm’s branch in Fraserburgh last year.
Mr Begg, who stressed that the company’s other Peterhead shop – Shoes at QSP – would continue to trade, said: “We’re trying to look at this positively, but at the same time it shows that the local government needs to take some serious action or they’ll just end up with nothing left in towns like Peterhead.
“Out-of-town retail has been a big part of this.
“From the council’s perspective, I can see why they continually support these out-of-town outlets, because it means they are boosting their revenue though planning gain. But at the same time, they’re hitting our revenues by allowing these other guys to move in.
“It’s like robbing from the poor to give to the rich.”
Mr Begg said there were also parking issues in Peterhead, which has a large pedestrianised area in the town centre.
“We can’t expect our customers to drive into town, take time to find a parking space and then pay £1 or £2 for the short space of time they are going to spend in the town centre,” he said.
“In Inverurie, people are more prepared to pay for parking if it means they can stop right beside the shop, or as near to it as possible.
“It’s not by chance that different towns are doing better than others.
“In the last 10 years, if you looked at a graph, you would see rates in Peterhead rising in a steady upward curve.
“And if you looked at the revenues of every single shop in Peterhead, I’d guarantee you they would be down by an average of about 5% every year for the last 10 years.
“In our opinion, it just doesn’t add up.”
Beggs Shoes and Bags’ Marischal Street shop in Peterhead trades as Andrew Begg.
Store manager Wilma Wiseman said: “I’m going to be incredibly sad to see the shop going.
“It’s awful to think it’s going to be another vacant shop in our town centre.”
All staff will transfer to the Begg family’s Queen Street store once Andrew Begg closes in the next few weeks.
Begg Shoes and Bags owner Garek Begg said: “Sadly, this is the reality of modern-day town-centre trading. Rent and rates sustain their upward trajectory, despite the mass reduction in footfall, primarily a result of out-of-town developments.
“It is inevitable that town-centre businesses will continue to close in the months and years ahead unless local councils, landlords and the government change their ways.”
Last year, the Begg family acquired stores previously operated by DE Shoes at Lerwick, Inverurie, Elgin and Peterhead.
The business, now based in Inverness, was established in 1866, when Alexander Begg opened a shop in New Pitsligo.
The Marischal Street store has been run by the Begg business for more than 30 years, but has been a shoe shop for more than 50 years.