The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Retail giant to shut in further blow to Perth’s struggling High Street
SHOPPING: Argos store’s permanent closure announced
Retail-giant Argos has announced the permanent closure of its High Street store in Perth in a further blow to the city centre.
Bosses of the catalogue-based shop say they have already informed staff of their plans to shut the Fair City outlet.
The company is the latest in a slew of businesses to pull out of the city centre with Beales, Phase Eight, Gap and Disney all closing their doors since January.
Earlier this month the owner of Bandwagon Music Shop announced he would be closing his business after four decades on St Paul’s Square.
The closure of the Argos store is a further blow to its customers after the chain announced in July it would stop producing its famous catalogue after 47 years in print.
Jamie Cowan, head of estates and investment at parent company Sainsbury’s, said: “We have a strategy to bring Argos to as much of the UK population as possible and it is vital that we meet our customers’ needs in terms of how they want to shop.
“This means having the right balance of standalone stores, Argos stores in Sainsbury’s and investing in our increasingly popular website which offers convenient home delivery and Click & Collect.
“We have updated colleagues on the difficult decision to close our store and we are doing everything we can to find alternative roles within our business for those affected.”
He said Perth customers would still be able to shop at Dundee, access a collection point at Kinross or shop online. The firm is also reviewing options to install a collection point in its Perth Sainsbury’s Local store, also in the High Street, and said it would keep customers updated.
SNP MP Pete Wishart said the move was “deeply concerning” for the city and urged any of the impacted staff to come forward if they wanted support.
The politician for Perth and North Perthshire said: “Whilst I understand that Argos will seek to redeploy staff wherever possible, this is not always suitable for all staff involved.
“I had previously sought to engage with Argos and the landlord of the High Street site, who had agreed to make a significant reduction in rent.
“I know that was a well-used store and that local residents will be concerned about a city the size of Perth no longer having access to a physical Argos store.”
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I know that was a well-used store and that local residents will be concerned about a city the size of Perth no longer having access to a physical Argos store.
SNP MP PETE WISHART