After taking on the challenge of one of the biggest empty units on Elgin High Street, Nelly Bo’s has expanded just two years after opening.
The ladieswear and lingerie boutique is in the large former Clarks shoe shop, which stretches over three floors.
Far from being daunted by taking on such a large property, owner Kerry Dean relished taking on the challenge.
She said: “It was very much go big or go home for us, because we needed the space.”
After initially only opening on the ground floor, the store has now expanded into the first floor with an even bigger offering.
Gone are the bright pink walls of the former Clarks store and staffroom.
Kerry added: “I’m still excited about having the big building. It’s so important for us to use all the space though, because we’re paying for it.
“It means we’ve provided another shopping area in the town centre though.”
Why now for Nelly Bo’s expansion?
When Kerry opened Nelly Bo’s it was always with the intention of expanding into the upper floors of the former shoe shop.
This month she opened the doors to what she has christened The Dressing Room, featuring a new range of ladieswear.
Meanwhile, she is in the process of renovating a former Clarks stockroom to become a one-to-one fitting room for women who have had a mastectomy.
Kerry said: “We’ve changed around the ground floor, moving the changing rooms up to the back just to create more space.
“I wanted to have completely new stuff upstairs. So the lingerie and nightwear is still downstairs and the ladies clothing is upstairs.
“I think there’s a bit of a gap in the market for something in the middle of the market.
“There’s Alluring Boutique at the bridal shops for something high end and really nice but with M&Co and New Look disappearing there’s not really anything in the middle.
“It’s coming up to Christmas so there’s lots of party dresses in at the moment, but we also have nice cosy jumpers. We’ve deliberately kept it broad.”
How Nelly Bo’s is removing barrier of parking charges
With the Christmas season approaching, Nelly Bo’s is running promotions to entice locals to do their festive shopping with them in the town centre.
Among the initiatives are late night shopping to 8pm with fizz and chocolates on Thursday, December 12.
And there are also events from 5pm to 8pm on December 5 and 19, both Thursdays, aimed specifically at men looking for gift ideas.
Meanwhile, the shop has also pledged to refund the cost of parking for customers who spend in store if they provide a photo of their ticket.
Kerry said: “We don’t believe customers should have to pay to park when shopping.
“We thought about it to find a way of how we could help customers, just as a thank you for them shopping with us.”
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