The Stirlingshire town of Dunblane, much like Lockerbie, is forever tainted by tragedy. On 13th March 1996, former scout leader Thomas Hamliton walked through the doors of Dunblane Primary School and murdered 16 children and one adult before turning the gun on himself. The town became the centre of the global media’s attention and once the cameras and reporters left, it mourned. The town has moved on from that day though, and thanks to its favourite son, Andy Murray, is now linked to a far more positive story – that of one of the world’s best tennis players.
The town itself is largely an affluent one, much like its neighbour, Bridge of Allen. Many of its residents commute to Edinburgh and Glasgow but given its relatively small size and population of under 9,000 it feels as intimate as a small town should.
The Dunblane Hydro hotel ensures that both tourists and businesses frequent the town (it is a popular conference venue) while old grey stonework buildings give the narrow curved high street a traditional feel and reassuringly there are no major high street brands to speak of. That doesn’t mean all is well in the town. Like many towns across Britain there are vacant spaces – in particular an off-licence called Winehouse lies empty with dust gathering on the windows.
This may be down to a nearby Tesco, and the biggest M&S Simply Food store SLR has ever seen. A Waitrose opening in Stirling later this year is also likely to help Dunblane residents into their cars.
Local retailers in the town are few – there are half a dozen – with a couple in the high street and near the train station, and others further out in more residential areas.
George Meldrum has run a newsagents on Dunblane high street for 30 years and has seen the highs and lows the town has lived though – from Andy Murray’s triumphant homecoming last year to the dark day in 1996. He says that the atmosphere in town is upbeat, that retailers are doing okay and just getting on with what business they can get. “It’s mostly locals that shop in the town centre, but we do get tourism in the summer. All retailers, whatever their business, get along with each other. We talk, we try to keep the town centre going.”
It would seem that most businesses in the town centre will survive, but the closure of one or two will be alarming. It makes the centre look incomplete and until someone else comes in and acquires the site that will always be the case. For the most part though, this town gets by thanks to the relative wealth of its residents and their willingness to shop local when they can.
Karim Abdul
unaffiliated retailer
Karim runs a small convenience store on the outskirts of the town, in a residential area. The store is on the main road into the town centre from the motorway so there is a little passing trade, so the vast majority comes from local residents. Like many shops of its size in similar locations, there is a steady stream of customers, with a relatively low basket spend. The busiest time of the day is when the school bus drops of scores of pupils who have been keeping their snack money warm in their pockets for a treat at the end of the day.
Karim and his wife have run the store for 10 years, and in 2012 invested in a full EPoS system and closed door chillers that Karim says have made his drinks offer look more attractive, while reducing energy costs.
“We’re a small local store so our takings are consistent,” he says. “The supermarkets are on the other side of town so we do okay from top up shops as well as through confectionery and soft drinks and so on.”
At around 400 sq ft, the shop doesn’t have a huge range, but it’s enough for locals, says Karim. And just a few weeks ago a lottery machine was installed. “We’ve been waiting a while for it and it’s already making a difference,” he says.
Taher Bhatti
unaffiliated retailer
Taher has run Harding’s Newsagents for 13 years. He’s an instantly likeable retailer with something to talk to every customer about. The shop is across the road from the train station and so relies on commuters to a certain extent.
His CTN is very small, selling exactly the sort of lines you’d expect in a shop that size. “Business is doing well enough,” he says. “Last summer was okay, but to be honest the introduction of the Metro a few years ago hurt us through a drop in our newspaper sales. It’s not just that now either, everyone reads the news on their phones or iPads, so we have to adapt.”
Part of that has been pushing an HND business, which has 350 customers – and by delivering milk and the likes to elderly customers, Taher is doing what good local retailers should.
He says the post office being next door is a great benefit to its business, as it sticks to selling stationery and the likes, leaving Taher – who is also known as Tariq – free to sell his array of FMCG products.
“The atmosphere in the town is good,” he says. “If you treat customers well, they’ll come back, and that’s what the retailers of Dunblane do.”
