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Edinburgh Woollen Mill firm lodges plans for empty unit in Aberdeen’s Bon Accord Centre

The company has submitted plans to bring the former Miss Selfridge store back into use.

Edinburgh Woollen Mill is taking over a unit in Aberdeen's Bon Accord Centre.
The empty unit is just at the St Nicholas Square entrance of the shopping centre. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson

A prominent clothing retailer could breathe new life into a long-disused unit at Aberdeen’s Bon Accord Centre.

Edinburgh Woollen Mill is planning to invest more than £56,000 in bringing the former Miss Selfridge store back into use.

The unit, which is between the clothing retailer’s sister brand Bonmarche and Marks and Spencer, has been empty for about four years.

It comes as owners look to lease the shop yards away on the Granite Mile.

Edinburgh Woollen MIll on Union Street, Aberdeen.
The clothing retailer currently owns a shop on Aberdeen’s Union Street, but the unit is being advertised to let. Image: Denny Andonova/DC Thomson.

The knitwear specialists have been a high street fixture in Aberdeen for decades.

The store they currently run is at 187 Union Street.

However, the site was recently sold off for a bargain price of £137,000.

What is Edinburgh Woollen Mill  planning for Bon Accord unit?

Documents say Edinburgh Woollen Mill plans to spend the money on sprucing up the former Miss Selfridge unit, improving lighting, drainage and ceilings.

Sales and staff areas will also be created.

Floorplan shows shops at Bon Accord Centre in Aberdeen.
The unit snapped up by Edinburgh Woollen Mill is the last one lying empty in the St Nicholas side of the Bon Accord Centre – if we don’t count the Marks and Spencer store which will close next spring. Image: Bon Accord Centre.

Edinburgh Woollen Mill bosses haven’t disclosed specific details about the plans yet.

Sale documents say they have rented the Union Street shop until July 2026, but there are currently “to let” signs up outside.

Edinburgh Woollen Mill on Union Street, Aberdeen.
Image: Denny Andonova/DC Thomson.

It also comes as the clothing company, which is behind the fashion brands Bonmarche and Peacocks, plan to open 100 new stores across the UK in the next 16 months.

Bonmarche store in Oban.
Fashion brand Bonmarche opened a new store in Oban last August. Image: Supplied.

Could this be another win in the battle to revive Aberdeen city centre?

It is the latest plan formed to bring new life to the Bon Accord Centre, which was battered by a string of high-profile closures during and after Covid.

Work is taking place on a new branch of Sostrene Grene in the mall, while coffee and whisky specialists Casc are planning a cafe there.

Marks and Spencer building in Aberdeen city centre.
Marks and Spencer will also abandon its flagship store in the city centre next year. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson.

There are currently 14 empty shops in the Bon Accord shopping centre.

You can track all the vacant units in Aberdeen city centre here.


Read more about efforts to fill empty shops on the city’s high street:

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