The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Two Tayside outlets on Semichem closures list
Two Tayside branches of Semichem are “no longer viable” and will close. The health retailer will close up to 22 stores across Scotland, Northern Ireland and the North East of England.
The chain, which is owned by Scotmid, said the closures have been prompted by ongoing challenges to high street trading, which have been exacerbated by the Covid19 pandemic.
On the closure list is its branches in Lochee, Dundee, and East High Street, Forfar.
A “to let/may sell” sign is already in place at the Angus branch.
Semichem is in talks with landlords in several locations that are “under review”.
A total of 140 Semichem staff have now entered a formal consultation process.
Management at Scotmid are exploring opportunities to redeploy as many as possible within its wider business.
Karen Scott, head of Semichem, said: “The high street was already struggling to adapt to the pace of change in shopping habits, including out-oftown developments and the rise of internet shopping.
“That change has undoubtedly been accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Sadly, we have reached the point where it is no longer viable to keep some of our stores open.
“We are grateful for both Scotmid and subsequent government support, which has undoubtedly prolonged the life of many stores.
“Our priority now is to support affected colleagues at this difficult time.
“We are already looking for redeployment opportunities within the Scotmid group and will help all our staff both personally and professionally.”
Semichem was founded by the Kerr family in Ayrshire in 1980.
It later became part of Scotmid Co-operative in 1995 and, at the point of acquisition, the operation had 25 stores. It currently operates 86 stores in shopping centres and on high streets throughout Great Britain.
Over the last three years, Semichem has invested about £2.2 million in refitting stores and trialing a range of new retail concepts.
Ms Scott added: “The remaining stores in our Semichem portfolio are trading satisfactorily given the current circumstances. “Like many other retailers, we are hopeful that, as the restrictions ease, footfall will return to our high streets.
“Semichem’s investment programme will resume in the summer.”
In an interview with The Courier back in September, Scotmid chief executive John Brodie, below left, warned that the Scotmid stores were performing far below precovid levels.
At that time he said he would not be rushing into making any “tough decisions”.
He said: “Some stores may benefit from the trend of local shopping and so we want to give them every opportunity to build the trade back up again.
“We are not immune from the general challenges facing retail at this time.
“We won’t shy away from making decisions, but we want to give every store every opportunity.”