Well-established vintage furniture shop Underneath the Arches has closed and left Perth.
The Princes Street location had its final day of trading on July 30 after nine years in the Fair City.
The shop of unusual and up-cycled treasures battled valiantly through COVID but, recently, the collective of people who offered their carefully sourced stock agreed it was time for change.
Part-owner Lou Shaw, who previously had a shop in Newburgh - Kit and Caboodle - sent a social media post to her customers informing them of future plans.
“As most of our customers know Underneath the Arches has now closed,” it read.
“It’s a very funny feeling not to be going to open the shop, however it is time for a change. As they say, new beginnings.
“We pack up and head to our new location in Newburgh High Street in Fife.
“I would love to thank all our customers for all your business, support and kindness, and friendship. Without you there is no shop and it has been a truly amazing nine years.
“Fiona Normand from Home Interiors and Isla Duncan from Nook and Cranny will be popping up in Fiona’s revamped garden cabin in Abernethy in October.
“Joanna Aitken from Little Drum and myself will pop up the weekend of September 2 in The Red Fox Studio in Newburgh, when I hope Louise from The Vunderkammer will pop up too with her quirky plants and planters.”
Speaking of the decision to leave Perth, Lou clarified it was not about lack of customers or spiralling costs so much as one of the four women who’d had Under the Arches had dropped out and they were ‘one man down’.
“The Perth shop was opened by myself and Joanna Aitken and latterly with Fiona and Isla we were a collective of four people,” she said. “When Isla left, we were on the lookout for a fourth but that didn’t materialise.
“Underneath the Arches had loyal customers and plenty of them. I hope they will find us in our new locations.
“I had one lady who comes once every year from Liverpool. She was hugely disappointed to find we had closed for good in Perth last weekend.
“Now I’m moving out, looking at Perth as a location, I’d say it has recently failed to play to its strengths.
“Perth was the old capital of Scotland and people want to see unique and individual shops. The council has not been very helpful, I don’t think they fully recognise the value of specialist independent shops.
“Perth is my hometown. I remember going out shopping with my mum. It was a really bustling market town.
“When it became a city it went downhill. Look at the High Street - so many closed shops, pound stores and tourist tat shops. Do we need another huge coffee shop I ask?
“I also note Perth is being marketed as a great commuter location with lots of new housing. But not one of my customers - in what was in essence a home furnishing store - had Bertha Park or Charlottegate as their address.
“There’s all this housing going up but the occupants do not spend in the city centre.
“Now these developments and the one at Dobbies are up and running, you’d expect the city centre to be more vibrant but that’s just not the case.
“Perth and Kinross Council is doing well from all the council tax these new properties generate, but I believe these folk who can home work and might need to visit their office in Edinburgh or Glasgow once a week are spending online and away from here.”
When asked for a comment on the closure, a PKC spokesperson said: “Our ambition is to create a vibrant, sustainable city centre for businesses, residents and visitors to Perth.
“The new £26.5 million museum at City Hall will be the new home of the Stone of Destiny, giving Perth an international platform and bringing thousands of visitors to the city from across the globe, delivering an annual GVA of £2.5 million, as well as complementing the many cultural attractions the city already boasts.
“The return of the Mod to Perth this year will also bring people into the city centre, generating an estimated £1 million boost to the economy.
“We appreciate that trading conditions have been difficult for many businesses across the country over the past two years and a shift in shopping habits is making it harder for many retailers, which is why we are we committed to re-energising all of our town centres.
“Additionally, we recruited staff to make sure all firms were able to access the COVID support they were entitled to during the pandemic.
“Our Business & Place Development team can support firms make the most of opportunities provided by the new museum, including grant support for frontage improvements.”
