For nearly 60 years Emporium Menswear has been a mainstay on Elgin High Street.
Some families are now into their fourth different generation of shopping in the store.
In an era where businesses are increasingly reliant on websites, social media and online sales to survive, Emporium Menswear still has none of them.
However, the much-loved family-run firm continues to attract regular customers from north of Inverness and as far south as Stonehaven.
Tourists who regularly visit the Moray coast are also known to make annual trips to the shop to stock up.
It is a shop that has generated incredible loyalty from a customer base it has nurtured for multiple generations.
- The Press and Journal visited Emporium Menswear on Elgin High Street to learn about the success of the store over seven different decades.
- How the business was the first to pioneer Sunday shopping in the town centre.
- The pride the staff take in the appearance of the High Street shop.
- And how the store has even dressed prime ministers in 10 Downing Street.
How Emporium Menswear struggled to find space on Elgin High Street
Emporium Menswear owner Ghulan Rasul is still a regular face in the High Street store despite being nearly 86 years old.
Today he’s often found sitting by the till near the door chatting to returning customers and those walking by.
Finding a spot to open on the High Street was not easy when Mr Rasul opened in the 1960s though.
Unable to find a unit when he moved to Buckie from Glasgow in 1966, he resorted to creative methods to find customers.
He said: “I used to book the halls and just set up in there. You couldn’t find an empty unit anywhere, honestly, they were so hard to get.
“I sold menswear, womenswear, schoolwear, household goods, anything people wanted I tried to get for them.”
After two years travelling to venues across the region, Mr Rasul finally secured a premises on Elgin High Street to open what was originally called The Elgin Drapery Store.
He added: “I finally got somewhere on a month by month contract. Then after a year the guy had me out because he needed it himself.
“This place was boarded up, nobody wanted to touch it, it was condemned. I took a chance and spent a lot of money on getting it open and we’re still here.”
The changing face of Elgin High Street
After finding success with Emporium Menswear on Elgin High Street, the family expanded with Cluny Fashions in Buckie, Manchester House in Forres and a second Elgin store, Esquire.
Esquire opened in 1991 and was initially next to the St Giles shopping centre with a vast array of clothing spread over four floors.
The store moved to its current location across the road from Emporium Menswear on the west end of Elgin High Street in 2015 and is run by Mr Rasul’s son Faiz.
Mr Rasul senior said: “We were so busy there. There was a pedestrian crossing right there and you could see people would look at our window and then come in.
“We had a lot of good times. I think the best were in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. I think it changed when the High Street was pedestrianised.
“There are the retail parks with the free parking now too.
“We’re still very busy though. We’re very fortunate to have so many good customers.
“Some of them are on their third or fourth generations now. They maybe came in here for their school clothes and they keep coming back.
“I think it’s good products, good brands and good service that keeps them coming back. Good service is very important.”
Pride in Elgin High Street shopfront
Almost every morning shop manager Nasir Mahmud can be seen scrubbing the Elgin High Street pavement outside Emporium Menswear with a broom.
The retailer has been with the company for 45 years after joining in 1979.
Shop window displays, how products are showcased inside and the cleanliness of the business has been a focus for him across the four decades.
Mr Mahmud told the Press and Journal first impressions for businesses extend beyond the front door and it was important to have a clean High Street.
He said: “You’ve got to have it nice and clean for the customers. Every day when you come in there are always bird droppings or feathers so you’ve got to sweep and wash it.
“In the old days everybody used to do it. Everybody would look after their own bit.
“Not so many people do it now though.”
Pioneering Sunday shopping on Elgin High Street
Emporium Menswear was the first Elgin High Street business to pioneer Sunday shopping in the run-up to Christmas 1977.
At the time, all the town centre shops remained closed.
Mr Rasul was the first High Street business to start trading on the seventh day in the hope of increasing sales further.
He said: “We were so busy during the week at the time that I thought we would try it out.
“Nobody else was open on the Sunday at the time. The customers loved it, I think they just wanted something to do as a family.
“Very quickly we started making a lot of money. We would take in about £100 a day, which was good back then.
“Within a couple of years everybody on the High Street was open on Sundays.”
Mr Rasul added: “We only do Sundays before Christmas now. It’s different now with the retail parks and online.”
How Emporium Menswear dressed prime minister from Elgin
Emporium Menswear can count prominent local businessman Gordon Baxter from the Fochabers-based soup giant and members of the Walker family from the shortbread bakers among their list of distinguished former clients.
The firm even gifted a tie to then prime minister John Major when he was in Inverness on a conference visit in 1994.
It was a gesture the prompted the politician to pen a note from 10 Downing Street to thank the family.
Meanwhile, the firm also came to the rescue of a high profile director from Swiss watch makers Raymond Weil while visiting Elgin in the 1990s.
Mr Rasul said: “They were on holiday in Elgin and during the trip they had lost all their cases.
“Nobody was open and they were desperate for clothes. They were phoning round all the shops to get someone to open so we did it for them.
“They spent so much money with us. We did everything for them, got all the alterations done, and took the clothes to the Mansefield.
“They were so grateful they took out a big advert to thank us. Good service always goes a long way.”
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