Strachans of Inverurie has been a part of its town’s high street for more than 80 years, having been managed by five generations of the same family.
It offers toys, baby clothes and food and drink all under one roof.
Manager Jack Strachan is “proud to still be a traditional toy shop”, which he says are hard to find nowadays.
And though he insists that the “magic” of visiting a store such as his in person is impossible to replicate online, he has adapted to survive the pandemic.
He said: “Lockdown has definitely shown us how important an online presence is, so we are currently developing our website. Having said that, the core of our business will always be face to face service in a beautiful shop.
“It’s important we all take advantage of the unique independent businesses we are lucky enough to have in the north-east.
“Online shopping has its place but there is nothing like a real toy shop for a truly magical experience.
“Although the past year has been challenging, it has driven home how loyal our existing customer base is and allowed us to offer different services to new customers.”
Toys for Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital
Strachans is running its popular Christmas Club over the winter, where people can reserve any toy for a 10% deposit and it will be stored at the shop right up until Christmas Eve.
Staff are also working with the Archie Foundation as the charity’s toy shop for the Children’s hospital in Aberdeen – donations can be made through the shop or by texting ARCHIEXMAS plus the donation amount to 70450.
The store is now backing the North East Now campaign, which has pulled together a range of information, directories and blogs aimed at allowing people to find out more about local firms operating throughout the pandemic since launching in June.
Today marks the mid-point of North East Now’s festive drive, an initiative introduced in a bid to drive sales for local businesses.
It is hoped that the campaign, led by Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, will encourage shoppers to boost their local economy following the disruption of the Covid-19 crisis.
Lisa Durward, owner of Bob and Lulu, is urging people to shop local this festive season, as well as the months to follow.
She said: “The initial lockdown was incredibly scary – my first thought was to be able to look after my hardworking and amazing team.
“As a business owner, it was extremely stressful not knowing when we would be able to reopen and if we would have a business to return to.”
It’s amazed me that our customers have remained loyal and returned to shop with us, despite everything that’s going on. And the team have taken all the changes in their stride.”
Lisa Durward of Bob and Lulu
The children’s fitted shoe and clothing boutique is based in Aberdeen and has had to adapt and diversify, which has paid off greatly.
“We now operate an online booking system for our professional shoe fitting service,” Lisa added.
“This means we can adhere to the social distancing guidelines, thus keeping us all as safe as possible. We also have fitting zones to ensure there is adequate distance between customers.
“It’s amazed me that our customers have remained loyal and returned to shop with us, despite everything that’s going on. And the team have taken all the changes in their stride.”
Other initiatives launched by North East Now – which is supported by creative agency Hampton and Aberdeen Journals – included its Power Week and Power Hour campaigns.
Both were a great success and a line-up of local businesses got involved to boost their exposure on social media.
Daisy Tree Baby Boutique, in Alford, has also made some changes.
The business, owned by Claire Caborn, has an array of safe, ethical and sustainably sourced products.
Claire said: “When lockdown started, I was just hoping for the very best for everyone.
“Since reopening, we have sanitizing stations, mandatory mask-wearing, a maximum number of people in the shop at any one time, and one-to-one appointments available on Sundays for people who would prefer it.”
