Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Scott Begbie: Time for John Lewis to pay back Aberdeen’s decades of loyalty

John Lewis pulled down the shutters on Aberdeen but can still make a goodwill gesture
John Lewis pulled down the shutters on Aberdeen but can still make a goodwill gesture

John Lewis hasn’t done itself any favours in Aberdeen.

Its decision to shut up shop and simply walk away, abandon its staff, ditch its customers, and put the boot into an already fragile retail sector is appalling.

Far be it from me to tell a multi-million pound high street chain how to make business decisions, but why does it make sense to close down an operation serving the north-east and north of Scotland? Why retreat to the Central Belt?

And did any of the pen-pushers at John Lewis look up from the bottom line long enough to consider the impact pulling out of Aberdeen would have on the rest of the sector and the city itself?

 width=
It is currently unclear what will happen to the John Lewis building

John Lewis was a major pull for the Granite City, bringing people in from far and wide. For years, it was loved, well-used and supported here in Aberdeen. Where is the payback for that loyalty?

What did they really expect to achieve by plastering posters on their locked doors saying folk can shop at John Lewis online?

The last thing our city centre needs is a massive shop, sitting empty and left to rot

Well, now the department store has a chance to at least show some sense of appreciation and thanks for the people of the north-east.

They should take up MSP Kevin Stewart’s suggestion of donating their now vacant building to the city as a goodwill gesture.

After all, John Lewis apparently is not planning on turning it into housing, as it is suggesting for other closed branches. And the last thing our city centre needs is a massive shop, sitting empty and left to rot.

 width=
Kevin Stewart MSP has suggested John Lewis donate the site of their Aberdeen store to the city to help the regeneration of the city centre and ‘cement their legacy’ after closing the shop

By donating the site, it would open the door to looking at imaginative and innovative ways of using the location to help regenerate that rather tired side of Aberdeen.

That must, though, involve an intensive masterplan, with a deep, clear-eyed look at what is truly needed in terms of housing, business and shops.

Surely with a site like that, in that location, there is scope for some truly visionary thinking about the future of the city centre?

Aberdeen should look to other cities for regeneration inspiration

The best way to make the heart of any town vibrant and exciting is to have people living in it, with affordable homes and unique boutique shops, coffee places or quirky restaurants, to be enjoyed not just by locals but to attract more people to the area, too.

Finnieston went from shabby to chic in less than a decade… Why can’t the same happen around George Street?

You just need to look at other cities to see how that template works, with bits of Glasgow being rejuvenated and made popular again after an influx of residents and independent businesses. Finnieston went from shabby to chic in less than a decade, driven by more people making their home there as new businesses made it a cool foodie hub. Now it’s somewhere people want to hang out.

Why can’t the same happen around George Street, with some bold thinking and a push in the right direction – triggered by John Lewis doing something positive to balance out the negative of abandoning Aberdeen?


Scott Begbie is entertainment editor for The Press & Journal and Evening Express

Read more by Scott Begbie:

This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.