Workers wait to hear of plans for sale of Glasgow’s oldest department store
STAFF at Glasgow’s oldest department store are in the dark about plans to sell the city centre property to save the troubled firm from collapse.
Watt Brothers is facing an uncertain future, after the current owner of the four-storey Sauchiehall Street premises announced possible plans to close the shop and relocate the business elsewhere in the city.
Willie Watt said the proceeds of the sale would be ploughed back into the 103-year-old business to help fund an expansion plan and described market conditions as “brutal”.
He said another site, in Glasgow, was being looked at, which would relocate the store to one floor.
However, if the store does close it would be a further blow for Sauchiehall Street, which has suffered the loss of a number of long-standing businesses. In March, a major blaze ravaged a row of shops and other businesses currently being demolished and has created a no-go zone in a once thriving retail area.
The latest company reports show the 11-store Watt’s suffered a loss of almost £750,000 on group sales of more than £21million. The website is offering discounts of up to 75% on its perfume range.
Mr Watt said: “The last few years have been brutal. Older stores do not lend themselves to modern retailing. People are looking for bargains all the time.”