Elgin’s High Street lost Clarks, Game and Edinburgh Woollen Mill during the pandemic’s financial storm.
It left three empty units and painted a bleak picture.
However, in 2022, these units were filled up with new starts.
Here are the three businesses that took over the units deserted by retail giants.
From Edinburgh Woollen Mill to Deli Next Door
Back in June, the Deli Next Door opened up on Elgin’s High Street.
The American-style delicatessen offers locals a full-range of meats, cheeses and baked goods.
The shop sits in the former Edinburgh Woollen Mill building at 158 High Street.
In 2020, the Elgin store was closed down as Edinburgh Woollen Mill plunged into administration.
The firm blamed the lockdown and low footfall since reopening in the summer.
These giants were later bought out of administration.
After 21 years as the owner of Elgin cafe Scribbles, Faith Houlding decided to expand her business and opened up the deli in the building that has lain vacant for two years.
She said: “Our staying power is far greater than the big companies that can just switch the lights off, turn a key and leave.
“Investing in the local community with another business shows that there is something brighter at the end of it.”
From shoe shop to lingerie boutique
Meanwhile, in November, Nelly Bo’s opened up at 116 High Street in Elgin.
The new lingerie boutique has been welcomed by locals.
The shop used to be home to Clarks shoe shop before it closed permanently in June 2020.
At the time, bosses said that “careful consideration” was taken in making the decision not to reopen after months of lockdown.
It resulted in nine redundancies.
From computer games to bikes
Back in May, Highland Bikes opened its their doors at 70 High Street in Elgin.
They sell new bikes and can make repairs.
The company already has a store at Shore Street in Inverness and is an established name in the Highlands.
The building used to be where Game was located before it closed down in 2020.
The gaming firm has had a rough time in recent years in the face of an increasingly tough video game market.
Online retailers were able to undercut them at every point.
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