There was a time in Glasgow when the department store was king of the city's shopping thoroughfares, but it's an era that appears to be all but over.
The last few decades have not been kind to the great shopping palaces that thrived and dominated Glasgow's retail landscape for much of the 20th century. Shifting shopping habits, increased competition, and, in recent years, internet shopping, have all contributed towards the death of the department stores that once lined Buchanan Street, Sauchiehall Street and Argyle Street.
We take a look at six Glasgow department stores that are gone but far from being forgotten.
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Pettigrew & Stephens
Glaswegians of a certain age still fondly recall Pettigrew and Stephens. Occupying a beautiful purpose-built premises on Sauchiehall Street, this legendary department store, which was founded in 1888, specialised in fashion for men and women, as well as household goods and furnishings.
Both the business and the building vanished in the 1970s.
Wylie & Lochhead
Over on Buchanan Street we had Wylie and Lochhead. Established in 1883, the department store was one of the very first to open in Glasgow and would thrive for the best part of a century.
The business was eventually acquired by the House of Fraser Group and closed completely in the 1970s.
Copland & Lye
Yet another great department store partnership in Glasgow was Copland and Lye. The store occupied a gorgeous Italianate-style building that was situated next to Pettigrew and Stephen.
The two department stores competed with one another on the site until 1971.
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Treron's
Department stores didn't come much more upmarket and glamorous than Treron's back in the day. Situated in the McLellan Galleries building in Sauchiehall Street, the store was modelled on the great department stores of Paris, and it certainly showed.
The store was heavily damaged by fire in the 1980s and largely rebuilt.
Lewis's
Younger readers will recognise the building as the home of Debenham's, but up until the '90s it was known only as Lewis's. The Argyle Street store, which opened in 1929, was known far and wide and it was a sad day when it finally closed.
Watt Brothers
Opened in 1915, the iconic Watt Brothers store in Sauchiehall Street was one of the city's top fashion emporiums for over a century. It was a sad day and the end of an era when the shop, which was the last of Glasgow's family-owned department stores, closed in 2019.
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