Sad end of an era at Hourstons
Another sad day for Ayr town centre
It’s all over for the grand old lady of retailing in Ayr.
Hourstons, the last remaining department store with its roots in the town, is expected to shut within a month.
The London- based owners of the 123- year- old store have pulled the plug despite years of loyally trying to make it work.
The departure of Hourstons will leave another huge gap in the town’s retailing.
MSP John Scott described it as a “hammer blow”.
Dozens of jobs are set to go in the collapse and this week the store is still trading, ironically it looks set to be mobbed as shoppers pay a fond, final farewell.
Waves of sadness hit Ayr this week as it emerged the famous Hourstons department store is to close its doors next month.
It will devastate the centre of the struggling town centre.
But the collapse of the business has come as no surprise to shoppers.
The London- based owners of Hourstons, the Jebreel family, have kept it going as long as they could despite mounting losses.
It became clear the writing was on the wall when the latest accounts became overdue. And a “strike off ” proposal was lodged to take Hourstons Ltd off the Companies House resister.
On Tuesday the three storey Alloway Street store was saying NOTHING about the closure to the Ayrshire Post.
A tight- lipped senior member of staff said: “We will issue a statement later.”
But town MSP John Scott described it as a “hammer blow” and pledged to do anything he could to help. John said: “The closure of Hourstons, which has been an institution for decades in Ayr and which supports a significant number of local jobs, would be another hammer blow to the town centre.
“I have contacted the owners of Hourstons in the hope there may be some way in which the closure of the store can be averted – perhaps through negotiating with the council a reduction in the store’s rates bill – and I have offered to do whatever I can to assist.”
Hourstons – and then Arnotts under House of Fraser control – has been one of Ayr’s retail institutions since the 1880s.
Orcadian David Hourston first opened a shop in Kyle Street before building the present store in 1896.
On David’s death in 1917, his sons took over the business which had become one of the largest retail drapery establishments in Scotland.
Its tearooms, smoking rooms and roof gardens became famed across the country. In April 1949 the business was acquired by the House of Fraser group and in the years following, various changes took place, both in name ( it became Arnotts for a time) and in ownership.
Hourstons Ltd was formed in 1993 by Isaac and Helen Jebreel.
Isaac, 73 this month, lives in a multimillionaires row in Hampstead.
He was unavailable for comment. There was no mention of the collapse on the store’s Facebook.
Hourstons launched an ‘ up to half price sale’ on Boxing Day and was still wishing customers a happy new year.
It is thought the doors will shut “early next month.”
The dated store harked back to the “Grace Brothers” era of the show ‘ Are You Being Served’ with some of its old fashioned signs upstairs.
But it was loved by the older generations. On social media, Ann Matthews said: “So sad to hear this. Very sorry for all the staff. I will miss the choice of good quality stock, helpful staff, nice atmosphere, cafe and toilets.
“Feel sad and angry that Ayr town centre is losing another valued store.”
But travel agent Vanessa Good, who runs her own agency in Ayr’s Newmarket Street, said: “I’m absolutely sick of how many people moan about the state of the High Street then go home and shop online. “
Andrea Morrison summed it up well. She said: “While it’s sad that this store is closing, it has been coming for years. Inside, you can see the neglect – it is not the store it once was.
“It’s not the fault of Ayr Central though as without them we wouldn’t have Debenhams or H& M. It is also not the fault of the council. It is down to us, the consumer not shopping in the store – choosing instead to shop online or go to another store which is, in all honesty,