A perfect retail partnership for Perth

News the former McEwens store building in Perth has been taken over provides a timely fillip for the Fair City and the wider Tayside area. English department store chain Beales is a major player south of the border and its expansion into Perth is a major vote of confidence in a city which has taken more than its share of knocks in recent years. The closure of McEwens was the worst of them. An institution which was seen as a corner stone of the vital retail sector was removed from the city centre when it could least afford it.

At least one other clothes shop owner in the vicinity directly blamed the McEwens decision for the closure of her own shop.

As well as the loss of footfall, the blow to the prestige of the city itself, while unquantifiable, was keenly felt.

The flagship local independent store helped put Perth on the shopping map and other businesses enjoyed the knock-on effect of its presence.

A locally-owned replacement was never likely to emerge but if Beales can establish itself, matching the ambition the city has shown itself in recent times, it could be a fruitful partnership.

With the nearby city hall scheme finally progressing and the major retail and cinema complex plan on the edges of the centre under way, the city feels as if it is on the verge of a renaissance of sorts.