Blow for Main Street as M&Co to close

Store to shut up shop next month

Cambuslang’s beleaguered Main Street has been dealt another hammer blow with the news that M&Co is set to close within weeks.

Staff had hoped to continue trading but the fashion giant have sold off the building at auction, and the store’s doors will shut for the final time on Saturday, October 13.

The Reformer understands that the seven members of staff at the branch have been offered jobs elsewhere in the company.

M&Co, previously Mackay’s, had been in Cambuslang for over 30 years, and the closure has prompted further concern about the future of the street.

Store manager Julie Baxter Toop told the Reformer: “We knew it would happen at some point, it’s just a bit quicker than we thought.

“We thought we might have been here until Christmas, but they decided to go a bit earlier.

“We’ve actually been doing well sales-wise this year, but the decision was made to sell the building.

“It’s the end of an era for M & Co in Cambuslang, because it’s been there for a long time and has been a Main Street fixture.

“For clothes in Rutherglen and Cambuslang you’re really down to Peacocks now, and this is what happens when you shut banks and other shops go, and the footfall just disappears.

“There’s just a ripple effect – there’s people that shop here and then go for a cup of tea or coffee – are some of those places going to lose customers when there’s less and less shops?

“A lot will depend on what moves in here next – that will make or break the street.”

Cambuslang East councillor Ann Le Blond said the decision would be a big blow for the local area.

She said: “There are real challenges facing town centres, M&Co have been on the Main Street for a number of years and have really supported the area, unfortunately with online fashion retail, fast fashion and a rise in rates, a number of retailers just can’t sustain a presence in town centres.

“It will be a great loss for Cambuslang.”

M&Co declined to comment when we contacted them regarding the forthcoming closure.

We’ve been doing well sales-wise this year, but the decision was made to sell the building