Everything changes, nothing stays the same - and here in Glasgow that couldn’t be more true for Sauchiehall Street.
One of the main shopping streets in the city centre, the 1.5 mile street has changed dramatically over the last two decades. With a sharp increase in online shopping and many retailers making changes to the way they operate, high street shopping isn’t quite what it used to be - and can be seen in our snaps of Sauchiehall Street from the early ‘00s.
In January, Glasgow City Council said the decline of Sauchiehall Street was due to ‘major changes in retailing’ which were accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic. This came after it was revealed that 37 of the buildings on the street lay unoccupied.
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We’ve put together some images from the streets shopping heyday, as we look back on some of the loved and lost outlets that once sat there.
One retailer that disappeared was Littlewoods, once one of the largest department stores in the UK. The chain was forced to close 119 of their stores in 2005, and the Sauchiehall Street spot soon became a Deichmann footwear outlet.
Earlier this year, the street said goodbye to one of the oldest Marks & Spencers stores in the city. After trading for 87 years, they pulled the shutters down for the last time in May.
In the late ‘90s, Scotland’s very first Ann Summers brand popped up on the street - and lasted over 20 years. Focusing more on their online service, the chain closed up the outlet in 2017.
Due to the continual fall in operators on Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow City Council announced a £7.1 million investment into a regeneration of the area in September 2019. This included a multifunctional service verge, two-way cycle lane, the plantation of trees and shrubs and free wireless internet through the street.
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Some have suggested the once legendary shopping thoroughfare could become a focal point for arts and culture, while others have said the drop in business rates is beyond saving. In 2017, Green councillor for the Anderston and City Ward Nina Baker said: “The commercial property market, particularly for shops, does not work.
“People hold on for decades to empty properties, and they would rather do that than drop the rent, as it would jeopardise their mortgages.”
Whatever the future of Sauchiehall Street, we can all agree that the changes in the last few decades have been dramatic. If you’re yearning for the days of busy shopping up and down the street, check out our gallery of snaps from the early 00s below.
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