Why we need Kate Forbes and not Kate Moss

Scottish Government should undertake a bold experiment to run a Debenhams-style store, says Jim Duffy

The king is dead, long live the king. And that is exactly the mantra that we would expect when big outfits like Debenhams and the Arcadia Group go into meltdown.

As two giants of the high street fail, for a variety of reasons, two newcomers should take their places. There should be new entrants waiting in the wings, ready to gobble up the high street and shopping mall space, bringing new life to each.

But sadly, on this occasion, there will be no up-and-coming retail offering.

Scotland will be left with barren spaces, while landlords suffer the consequences.

However, I have a bold suggestion…

Of course, Mike Ashley may buy up brands within the Arcadia group. Such is his nous, or some would say ego, that he could make a go of Topshop once more.

There is still some semblance of a brand there, albeit Kate Moss is washed out and the brand's current owners – Sir Philip and Lady Green – look like they belong in a waxworks.

I am sure it will not be long before they are summoned before a committee at Westminster if they do not pony up and rejuvenate the ailing Arcadia pension scheme. Some say Topshop has had its day. Even my 22-year-old daughter who is big into fashion was most dismissive of it when I suggested Ashley might buy it. The verbiage thrown back at me included “shabby” and “pricey”.

Notwithstanding that many will want to pick over the bones of these once-great retail empires, I wonder if there is a better way to create new retail businesses, before Amazon buys up the spaces and uses it to quite literally take over online and offline retail. Could we create a new Arcadia Group or Debenhams within the next decade that would add vibrancy to what may soon look like graveyards within the country’s malls?

And how innovative and daring could we be in that challenge? Stand up, Kate Forbes.

Ostensibly, there is no magic bullet that can put right the years of decline that killed off Debenhams. We cannot pay off supplier debts and landlord invoices.

Like all insolvency situations, these just die on the vine, sadly. But, we can have a go at creating and boosting entrepreneurship in Scotland.

Notably retail entrepreneurship, which always seems to be overlooked by those agencies with “enterprise” in their name.

So, let me paint a picture of a Debenhams 2.0 store near you in 2021 with the Covid threat diminishing.

First up Kate, just as you can step in and buy an airport or a shipyard, you can rent a retail space. Let’s look at the Scottish government leasing a vacant Debenhams building for 12 months.

You pick up the tab. The accounting mandarins can run a spreadsheet on costs, which in the current climate of massive debts, will be tiny. Minuscule. That's the hard bit done.

Next, you let the whole of Scotland know that it is open for business.

You, Kate Forbes, have your very own premium retail space that you want filled to the gunnels with entrepreneurs new and old.

That’s right, you are offering premium space at a massive discount to startups, growing businesses and established ventures.

How else will I get my “Craghopper” fleeces now that Debenhams is