Goodbye to BHS Shutters come down at store for the last time
It was the end of an era when the shutters came down for good on East Kilbride’s BHS store.
Forty members of staff clocked off for the last time on Saturday as the shop was locked up.
And at an emotional farewell on Monday, they gathered at the town centre store to find it completely stripped with the last few railings and hangers being removed.
BHS has served generations of East Kilbride shoppers since the early 1970s and many of the staff were in tears as they met for the last time as colleagues.
Store manager Scott Barber paid tribute to the staff he had worked with during his tenure. He said: “It’s the end of an era. Not just for us but for East Kilbride as a town. Everyone here has been great and the saddest part of this is that we all won’t be able to work together again.
“In all my years this is the best team I have worked with.
“I also want to thank the people of East Kilbride who have been so good to us and
backed us the whole way. The positivity and kind words of those who came into the store has really helped us.”
The 40 staff in East Kilbride are among over 11,000 workers made redundant by the closure of the iconic chain.
In March 2015, BHS was sold to Retail Acquisitions Ltd for a nominal price of £1 by Sir Philip Green, the owner of the Arcadia retail empire. On April 25 it entered administration and all stores will be closed by August 20.
In East Kilbride, the longest serving staff member, Carole Cameron, had clocked up 18 years of service.
On the other end, Caitlyn Johnston (17), Megan Conlan (18) and Rebecca Dunn (16), all marked one year of working in the store just a couple of days before the closure.
The part-time trio, who are all students, told the News that they were left gutted.
Megan said: “We all only just reached a year and we were really enjoying it, I would have liked to work here for longer.”
Rebecca also expressed her sadness at being in the shop for the last time: “It’s like a big family here, you get to know everyone so well”
Caitlyn added; “Hopefully we will all stay in contact after this.”
East Kilbride MSP Linda Fabiani paid tribute to the staff who now face unemployment, vowing to help them find work elsewhere.
The SNP MSP said: “It is sad news BHS has closed its doors to the public for a final time and is a real blow not only for the workers but for the people of East Kilbride and the town centre. My thoughts are with staff who have faced the loss of their jobs and the risk to their pensions.
“The Scottish Government’s lead agency PACE – Partnership Action for Continuing Employment have been assisting employees throughout this process as they try to find alternative employment.
“The town centre management have put a lot of hard work into the modernisation programme of our town centre, and I will of course be liaising with them over future plans for the unit.”
Ian McLelland, centre director at EK East Kilbride, said it was too early to be able to say who might move into the space..
He added: “There’s no doubt the closure of BHS was sad news for everyone employed there and for everyone who enjoyed shopping in the store.
“EK East Kilbride is home to many popular retailers and we are continuing to work hard to bring further names into the centre but at this stage it is too early to give any definitive information on that.”