Breathing new life into iconic building
CEO Tony Brown with project manager Mike Linnane inside the ladies department Beales department store is preparing to open in time for the Christmas rush.
The English firm is set to breathe new life into the iconic former McEwens of Perth building on November 2.
And, as the finishing touches are being put in place ahead of the grand unveiling, Beales CEO Tony Brown took the PA on a tour of the flagship site earlier this week.
Mr Brown admitted he first looked at the site – which was vacated in May, 2016, when McEwens went into administration last year with the loss of more than 100 jobs – two months ago and is delighted to be opening to the public in a fortnight, the day after a special civic reception to mark the occasion.
He said: “The company owner, Andrew Perloff, was looking to purchase the building and he sent me up to look at it.
“I came up on August 6 and looked at the building for the first time, as well as the city centre, and immediately knew that this could work.
“I walked in and fell in love with the structure, and knew it could be a great department store.
“It’s needed a lot of work, but it’s almost ready. Water was pouring in through the roof, which we’re fixing just now.
“We’ve kept a lot the same the staircase, the colours - we’re keeping the sign outside too. It’s a listed building, so our sign will say ‘Beales, formerly McEwens’.”
The flagship St John Street building was said the “perfect” venue for Beales to open its first Scottish store in – a move which will see the creation of 40 new jobs.
Mr Brown added: “I know Perth well from when I used to work for BHS, and I knew about McEwens, but I’d never been inside.
“We’re only taking over the St John Street premises, which is slightly smaller than the size of building we would usually move into.
“Perth is the ideal place for us to start in Scotland. We are a market town business and Perth’s independent business focus is perfect for us. We’re also looking at ways of integrating the Perth Gift Card.
“The management team is all from the local area, including store manager Fiona Wilkins. There are also a couple of former McEwens employees starting with us too, which is great.
“The council have been very helpful and supported us with the recruitment too. Over 400 people applied, which speaks volumes.
“We held inductions on Wednesday, October 18, and we’re going to have three days of full training before the store opens.”
As an independent department store, Mr Brown explained that when each store opens, the company holds focus groups with local people.
He added: “We hold customer listening groups with local people whenever we open a new store and find out what people in the area want. Because we’re an independent firm rather than a chain, we can order in whatever brands or products there is a demand for.
“When we open, the store will be full, but over the next four or five months the store will continue to evolve and grow.”
We are a market town business and Perth’s independent business focus is perfect for us