New clothes shop plan for shopping mall site

Aprominent clothing retailer could breathe new life into a long-disused unit at Aberdeen’s Bon Accord Centre.

Edinburgh Woollen Mill is planning to invest more than £56,000 in bringing the former Miss Selfridge store back into use.

The unit, which is between the clothing retailer’s sister brand Bonmarche and Marks and Spencer, has been empty for about four years.

The knitwear specialists have been a high street fixture in Aberdeen for decades.

They currently run a store on 187 Union Street.

However, the 2,211 sq ft site was recently sold off to a Glasgow developer for a bargain price of £137,000.

Documents say Edinburgh Woollen Mill plans to spend the money on sprucing up the former Miss Selfridge unit, improving lighting, drainage and ceilings.

Sales and staff areas will also be created.

Edinburgh Woollen Mill bosses haven’t disclosed specific details about the plans.

But they have rented the shop until July 2026.

Whether they would opt out of their city centre location when the lease is up is unclear.

It also comes as the Carlise-based clothing company, which is behind the fashion brands Bonmarche and Peacocks, plan to open 100 new stores across the UK in the next 16 months.

It is the latest plan brought forward to bring new life to the city’s Bon Accord Centre, which was battered by a string of high-profile closures during and after the Covid pandemic.

Work is taking place on a new branch of Danish sustainable furniture and accessories retailer Sostrene Grene in the mall, while coffee and whisky specialists Casc are planning a new cafe on the site.

There are currently 14 empty shops in the Bon Accord shopping centre.

Edinburgh Woollen Mill will take over the vacant Bon Accord Centre site.