If you were Christmas shopping in Aberdeen in days gone by, names like Esslemont and Macintosh, Watt & Grant, or Arnotts might have been top of your list.
Department stores of yesteryear always have a nostalgic pull to them – they were destination shops and represented a golden age of shopping.
Exuding a certain kind of luxury, the counters were designed to be perused at a leisurely pace.
While attentive and immaculately-dressed staff prided themselves on impeccable service.
Aberdeen’s department stores were once cornerstones of its retail offering, with several scattered throughout the city centre.
From Esslemont and Macintosh on Union Street, to Reid and Pearson on the corner of St Nicholas Street, and Isaac Benzies on George Street – among others – Aberdonians were spoilt for choice.
Arnotts started out as Isaac Benzies department store
There are few people who will recall shopping at Isaac Benzies while it was still owned by the family – most will be more familiar with its later incarnation as Arnotts.
Isaac Benzies founded a small drapers shop at 154 George Street in Aberdeen in 1894, before opening other outlets in the Gallowgate, Rosemount, Torry and Bucksburn.
The burgeoning business was brought together under one roof in 1924 at Benzies’ famous premises at 143-167 George Street.
There was a fabrics department on the ground floor where all manner of cloth for dressmaking and furnishing could be found.
If you didn’t fancy sewing your own clothes they had an in-store shirt-making service that could do it for you.
In the children’s department there was a toy bazaar, and you could pick up everything you could possibly need for bringing up baby, including carriage prams.
And there were hair salons for adults and children, and even a chiropodist who was “always in attendance” at the store.
Arnotts underwent complete transformation with 1973 refit
After Benzies’ death in 1926, his sons Isaac Junior and Athol took over the business.
When Athol retired in 1955, the national chain House of acquired Benzies.
A high street stalwart, the department store continued to trade under the Benzies name until 1972, when it became known as Arnotts.
Until 1955, when the shop had a makeover, it remained largely unchanged inside from the Edwardian era.
But on October 3 1973 it was transformed after a dramatic refit to makes the premises bigger and brighter.
On the ground floor alone, the refurbished shop had a new linen hall, a knitting and sewing machines centre, a radio and television showroom, a haberdashery, cosmetics and toiletries, jewellery, and fashion accessories.
Menswear, key cutting, cigarettes and confectionary could also be found on the ground floor, while the basement level was packed with homewares.
It’s where customers could buy wallpaper, electrical goods, freezers, washing machines, cookers, paint and garden items.
Shock as closure announced amid falling profits in 1980
The upper floors were full of fashion boutiques with the latest trends, furs, rainwear, suits, childrenswear, underwear, corsetry and the restaurant.
While the top floor was home to the hairdressing salon, furniture, lighting, bedding and even fire surrounds.
It was a huge investment in the premises, therefore there was shock just seven years later when House of Fraser announced it intended closing its Arnotts and Watt & Grant stores.
The announcement was made in the wake of a collapse in profits for the parent company.
But it was several years before the closure date was confirmed, suddenly in November 1985.
It was described as “the end of an Aberdeen shopping era”.
After the tills fell silent and the last bargain hunters left the store at 5.30pm on February 1 1986, staff gathered for a farewell party in the building.
‘Broken-hearted’ staff and customers when Arnotts closed in 1986
They marked “the passing of a store that had a reputation for selling anything and everything at reasonable prices”.
It was a night of mixed emotions for staff.
Manager Leonard Cadger said customers had expressed their sadness at losing a beloved shop.
While longest-serving staff member Elizabeth Falconer had joined Isaac Benzies 42 years previously in 1944.
Elizabeth described being “broken-hearted” because it had always been a friendly store with friendly managers. But she was also looking forward to retirement.
Other staff members were absorbed into Frasers’ remaining Union Street shop and the closure resulted in 58 redundancies.
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