Perth’s branch of the Scottish clothing chain Wilkies is believed to be one of just a few that will remain open after the business faltered.
Wilkies, a shop name that goes back to 1898, went into administration but has been able to secure a buyer.
The new owner has announced that of the 11 branches some will close but the shop in St John Street Perth will carry on.
Perth City Centre’s Bailie Chris Ahern reacted to the news.
“It would appear that the Perth branch is one of a few that will be kept open,” he said.
“I am happy that our Perth store will remain open continuing to provide a well-needed presence on the street as well as securing jobs.
“It is good to see a retailer continuing that presence and not moving online. I hope other stores will follow suit,” added the Scottish Conservatives and Unionist.
Perth City Centre councillor, Peter Barrett, said: “It’s still not clear what the exact situation is.
“But if the administrators have sold the shop and it continues to trade under new ownership, this is good news for the city centre. It will be a relief for staff too.”
Cllr Andrew Parrott commented: “I was not aware that the Wilkies chain was in administration but I am delighted to hear that a buyer has been found and I hope very much that their plans going forwards will include retention of the Perth outlet.
“I ask all those who want to see a vibrant physical retail sector in Perth city to think very carefully about their own shopping habits and their use of online retail.
“Equally, I encourage all traditional retail outlets to do all that they can to ensure that their offer matches and improves on the sterile environment of online shopping.”
The pre-pack administration sale comes after Blair Nimmo and Alistair McAlinden from Interpath Advisory were appointed joint administrators to Wilkies Limited.
Wilkies is a family-owned retailer of ladies and mens fashion and homewares with headquarters in Edinburgh.
It is believed to employ a total of 95 people.
Administrators blame poor post-pandemic sales and rising costs for the company’s struggle.
“Unfortunately, sales did not recover to pre-pandemic levels in some locations and this, coupled with rising labour and energy costs, led to the company incurring significant losses,” the administrators said.
In Perth, after being closed for one day on Thursday, Wilkies launched a summer clearance sale opening on Friday, June 30 hoping to shift seasonal stock.
And in a warm summer that has seen widespread reduced customer footfall, WHSmith in Pitlochry has closed its doors.
The branch located on Atholl Road shut at the end of last month.
