Fears for future of Glasgow's Sauchiehall Street following M&S announcement
The retail giant is set to become the latest brand to abandon the once bustling city centre street
Last updated 19th Jan 2022
Small business owners on Glasgow’s Sauchiehall Street are telling Clyde News rent prices need to come down if the area is to survive as a retail space.
M&S just the latest retailer to leave Sauchiehall Street
It follows the announcement from Marks and Spencer that it was putting forward proposals to close the iconic store on the street.
M&S Regional Manager David Bates told Clyde News on Tuesday: “Shopping habits are changing, and this means we need to focus our investment on the right stores in the right places so we can provide the very best shopping experience for our Glasgow customers. As part of this transformation, we have today announced to colleagues our proposals to close our Sauchiehall Street store in April 2022.
“This decision means we can invest in our twelve other Glasgow stores including nearby M&S Argyle Street - so we keep pace with the demands of our customers today and in the future.”
The retail giant has told staff at the Sauchiehall Street branch it will try and find new jobs for as many of them as it can if the plan to close the branch goes ahead.
But there is concern about what it means for the future of the once-bustling street.
Recent years have seen a number of big-name brands withdraw from the area; including Watt Brothers, BHS, Argos, Vodaphone and Dunnes Stores, with many vacant spaces yet to be filled.
"I just don't see a future for the street"
Clyde News has spoken to Jamie O Neill, who runs a mobile phone repair shop, and says his days there could be numbered: “I’m worried about what’s going to happen next. We were already considering whether it was worthwhile to be here.
“I’m still hanging on to the bitter end, but it’s really getting to the end now where I just don’t see the future in this street.”
The news of M&S leaving the street is also being met with disappointment, but not surprise, with one telling Clyde News: “I think the world is moving more towards online shopping I guess, and I generally just order things online” and another saying: “If big players like M&S are going then the issues must be amplified for small businesses.”