More independent shops could return to Scottish high streets as big brands move online

The death of high-street brands Topshop and Miss Selfridge is "likely to be the first step" in the renaissance of more traditional, independent shops.

Online-exclusive company ASOS has bought the Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge labels from failed retail giant Arcadia for more than £250m with Boohoo, also exclusive to online, circling to pick up Burton and Dorothy Perkins from the same company.

Debenhams is another that will be disappearing from high streets up and down the country, leaving voids in not only them but shopping centres such as Silverburn and the St Enoch centre.

Glasgow and it's surrounding towns are home to all of the brands mentioned above, with Topshop and Topman long-term tenants at the top of Buchanan Street and next door to Burton.

Fashion and marketing expert from GCU, Doctor Lara Connell, says if businesses want to survive tangibly for years to come, they need to find a way to stand out.

She told us: "Indications show that it's specialist retailers who fare the best, the ones who have a unique product offering or something that you can't get anywhere else.

"The challenge that faced Arcadia is that it's products haven't been unique for quite some time and a lot of it's competitors are offering very similar products. Also, a lot of those competitors are online retailers and because they operate in that environment they're much better at servicing customers.

"All research suggests that we, as consumers, aren't ready to carry out all of our shopping exclusively online. Physical retail stores are still going to be very important to multiple high street brands and they will still continue to have stores.

"The number of stores they have and where they'll be is going to be a really big area of consideration though and it's likely we'll see more store closures up and down the country.

"What will happen in it's place will take time to evolve, but we should see a return to more independent retailers in town and city centres, and we're also likely to see a bigger mix of leisure and entertainment venues in amongst retail spaces."

If retailers have faced adversity in the heat of the coronavirus battle, a successful vaccine roll-out won't solve all their issues straight away.

Doctor Connell thinks the convenience of shopping online is a comfort zone that might prove tough for consumers to escape, meaning high-street survivors need to get creative with ideas to increase footfall.

Doctor Connell continued: "The pandemic has meant more of us are shopping online now than ever before and we've experienced the convenience and benefits of this.

"Retailers with stores are going to have to work hard to get us back into their environment and the one way they're looking to do this is by providing us with an experience that's fun and enjoyable and even more of a leisure experience.

"If you can fulfil all the functional benefits of shopping online, then physical shopping is going to have to be about a lot more than that."

Over the last decade or two, a walk down the main street of any city or considerably-sized town in the UK is one accompanied by the sight of brand stores like Topshop, River Island, New Look and Burton.

The same clothes and brands have been in demand, meaning there's less from people to choose from according to Doctor Connell.

She is certain the return of more independent shops will bring a greater variety to our wardrobes, adding: "Over the past couple of decades, big name, high-street retailers have come to dominate town and city centres and because of that, customers have had little choice.

"You could go to any town and buy the same products because you'll find the same retailer there.

"Now that these retailers are sadly disappearing, what we could see now now is the return of smaller, independent retailers and the return of more choice.

"We'll also definitely start to see more entertainment venues on offer in city centres along with leisure facilities."