Perth’s healthy retail heart is beating its rivals, says expert

Perth city centre is outperforming rivals like Dundee and Stirling, according to a retail expert.

Addressing a Perth Past, Present and Future seminar held at the Royal George Hotel, Leigh Sparks, professor of retail studies at Stirling University, admitted that like other towns and cities across the country, the Fair City faced challenges.

He warned that any town which stood still in terms of enticing people and business would fall behind the competition and they had to be “attractive, active and accessible”.

Professor Sparks said Perth enjoyed unique characteristics and maintained: “It is outperforming Stirling and Dundee in any measures and there are lots of good things going on. There is nowhere quite like Perth.”

He pinpointed Perth as “independent and self-reliant with a lot of quality and a self-contained city centre”.

The professor flagged-up the eagerly anticipated opening of department store Beales in the former McEwens building in St John Street as a good news story.

“There were good reasons for Beales choosing Perth for their first store in Scotland,” he said.

“It has a catchment which looks to the city for things that are distinctive and different.”

Prof Sparks cautioned that Perth’s independent streak could also be a double-edged sword.

He said: “It can also be a negative as Perth is not as well connected as some in the central belt.

“You are going to have to make more effort to give people a reason for coming here, to stay and play.”

The seminar, which marked the 50th anniversary of Perth Civic Trust and the Scottish Civic Trust, was chaired by Scottish Civic Trust director John Pelan and also featured Kinross-shire geographer Dr David Munro reflecting on Perth’s past, while the present was addressed by Jim Valentine, depute director of Perth and Kinross Council.