The owner of a women’s clothes shop in Moray is using the second lockdown to consider new avenues to sustain the business.
Lossiemouth-based Unique faces nearly another month with its doors with the rest of the Scottish retail sector.
Last year the store coordinated local efforts to make scrubs for NHS workers with more than 100 garments transformed from duvets.
Yesterday owner Maureen Halkett was using the current downtime to complete the annual stocktaking process.
However, the businesswoman has also been using the lockdown to consider new avenues to take the store after a quiet December.
She said: “I’m looking to diversify and change the business model, just to see if there’s a different market or merchandising opportunity we could use – something that’s totally different to give me the encouragement to keep going.
“We’ve also been using this time to look at how we might increase what we offer in terms of a website.
“Keeping track of funding opportunities has also been a bit of a minefield. It’s been tough to find something that specifically applies to your circumstances.
However, despite the rise in Covid-19 cases in Moray and across Scotland, there have also been heartening signs of support from the Lossiemouth community.
Mrs Halkett, who is also chairwoman of the Lossiemouth Business Association, said: “It was very quiet during December, but there have been some signs of encouragement.
“We launched a Lossiemouth gift voucher scheme a few years ago and this year the response was really phenomenal, there was a massive uplift.
“It really shows that the community really cares about keeping money local and supporting the businesses that we have.”
