Three Scots stores close each week

THE CRISIS in the Scottish high street has been laid bare as new figures show that three stores a week have been closing since the turn of the year.

Scotland has seen 161 stores pulling down the shutters against 131 which have opened. The net loss of 30 stores makes it the worst-performing area in Britain. The south-west of England has seen a net gain of 48 stores.

The research by accountancy firm PwC and retail location research firm, the Local Data Company, chimes with another recent report from Colliers International which said some 48 per cent of Scottish town and city centres have "failing" high streets, more than twice the rate of their counterparts in England.

The research, outlines the types of stores that were closing - clothing, jewellers, bars and pubs and restaurants - which were being replaced by convenience food, but also less salubrious pawnbrokers, pound shops and bookmakers. In Scotland, the biggest number of closures were among restaurants and clothing stores, followed by bars and pubs, then sports, toy and hobby shops.

Although there were 12 more multiple retail shops across Scotland at the end of May than at the start of January 2010, the PwC report shows the pace of closures has accelerated rapidly since January. There were 373 closures over the past 18 months but 161 of these were over the past five months alone, with Edinburgh (-16) and Paisley (-13) the biggest losers, while Dundee (+24) and Stirling (+10) were the biggest gainers.

Tom Johnston, head of retail for Colliers International, said any new openings were increasingly in shopping centres where retailers could "amalgamate" rather than on the high street. He said: "National retailers just do not need as many shops as they did."

In recent weeks, chocolatier Thorntons, electrical retailers Dixons and Comet and the childcare retailer Mothercare have all indicated they will have to close stores.

In Scotland, the fastest growing retailers included Co-op food stores, Greggs the bakers and JD Wetherspoons.

Bruce Cartwright, head of business recovery for PwC in Scotland, warned that retailers would continue to struggle as shoppers tighten their belts as well as shop online. PwC estimates that ,since the start of the recession, troubled retailers have closed - or plan to close - more than half of their store portfolios.

Cartwright said: "Over the next six months, retailers will undoubtedly continue to struggle. Certain categories such as clothes shops, where in Scotland we have already seen 19 retail outlets close in the first five months of 2011, are likely to experience high levels of financial distress."

Sara Miller, retail specialist for PwC in Scotland, said the trend for shopping online - which accounts for one in ten of all purchases - would permanently reduce store numbers.And the trend is growing. Colliers has estimated online shopping with remove 40 billion from the UK high street by 2015.

Miller said: "There is no doubt that people are changing the way they shop - the range and frequency of shopping as well as how they browse, transact and collect their goods. The key is for retailers to learn from this and adapt for a future that has different requirements. For example, easy accessibility for click and collect, large stores for showing off ranges and enabling trials, exciting show stores for brand building and commuter-route small stores for top-up or treat shopping.

"Ultimately, there appears to be only one direction - a reduction in the number of stores, with the average store size probably increasing. We expect to see a continuation or even acceleration of these trends by this time next year."

Fiona Moriarty, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said the figures were a "wake-up call" and called for concerted policy action to stop high streets from the "blight" of lower-end and empty shops.

"The fate of our high streets needs to be high on the political agenda," she said. "Practical actions are needed to protect and promote Scotland's high streets so they are not blighted by high numbers of take-away outlets and empty premises.

"Priorities should be the provision of good public transport, affordable parking and effective crime prevention measures. Retailers need business rates which are easier to plan for, and landlords who will accept modern, monthly rental agreements."