100 years on, family f irm branches out
IT first opened when the country was at war, providing high-end fashions to the ladies of Scotland’s largest city.
When it began trading in 1915, Watt Brothers’ flagship shop was one of 13 department stores in Glasgow’s Sauchiehall Street alone.
Now it is the only one remaining and yesterday the firm, which now specialises in a range of lower cost products, announced hundreds of new jobs in a major expansion across Scotland.
The firm bucked a retail downturn in the 1980s by moving away from expensive fashions to more affordable items.
It now sells everything from clothes and accessories to houseware, jewellery, watches, books, toys and confectionery.
Watt Brothers is planning to create 350 jobs by opening six stores and expanding others in the next few years.
Owner Willie Watt said: ‘Our business has changed dramatically since it first opened its doors in Glasgow’s Sauchiehall Street, when the focus was exclusively on highend ladies’ fashions.
‘We have recognised that a wider range of great value products in a department store setting has greater appeal to today’s consumer.
‘My long-term plan is to have a total of 16 stores throughout Scotland, and we’re constantly looking at new opportunities to secure ideal locations.’
The retailer employs 500 people at shops in Livingston, West Lothian; Clarkston, Renfrewshire; Hamilton, Lanarkshire; Clyde bank , Dunbartonshire; Lanark, Glasgow and Ayr.
It is planning new stores in Port Glasgow, Renfrewshire, and Irvine, Ayrshire. Other locations are ‘in negotiation’.
Existing stores in Clarkston, Ayr and Livingston will also be enlarged.
Watt Brothers can trace its roots back to the late 1800s when Allan Watt set up a small drapery shop.
In April 1915, Watt Brothers was formed as a limited company and moved into its store on the corner of Sauchiehall Street and Hope Street, Glasgow.
The current Mr Watt, who is the fourth generation of the family, said he hopes turnover will hit £30million this year.