The staff of Fort William’s Superdrug branch have thanked customers as the store closed for good.
On September 17, Superdrug opened its doors to the public for the last time after years on the High Street.
A favourite with locals and tourists alike, the store offered everything from perfume to ear piercings.
The news came to the community less than a month after the closure of Elgin’s St Giles store. Elgin locals now have to make the 40-mile journey to Inverness to visit their nearest branch.
Similarly, Fort William locals need to make a 40-mile journey to their nearest branch which is now in Oban.
‘We have loved serving you’
Before leaving, the Superdrug team wrote a heartwarming thank you post to the community on their Facebook page. It read:
“To all of our amazing customers, we can’t even begin to thank you for the amount of support you’ve given us over the past few years.
“From old customers to new, locals to visitors, we have loved serving you all and seeing your faces every day, and listening to how your day has went or what your weekend plans are.
“This is why it breaks our hearts to announce that our store will be closing on the 17th of September.
“We thank you sincerely for all the support as we’re preparing to part ways.”
What about the staff?
Because of the distance between Fort William and Oban, many staff members could not stay within the company.
However, it is understood that many of the team members had new jobs lined up.
Superdrug’s closure has come during a particularly hard time for Fort William’s high street.
Many local businesses have had no choice but to operate on reduced hours including restaurants, post offices and pharmacies.
And others are struggling to recruit staff because they can’t find anywhere to live.
A spokesperson for Superdrug said: “We can confirm that the Fort William Superdrug store closed on Saturday, September 17.
“Before the store closed, all team members were offered positions in other stores and were supported in finding alternative positions in the local area.
“We want to thank all our customers for their support and in the meantime, plans to open more Superdrug stores in Scotland continue for 2022.”
Are you interested in more exclusive and breaking Highland and Islands news from the P&J? If so, why not join our dedicated Facebook page HERE
Conversation