Keepsakes, a popular gift shop chain that started in Pitlochry, will open its largest shop in Dundee this weekend.
Brothers Scott and Stephen Nicol bought the Keepsakes shop in Pitlochry in 2020. After a refurbishment it opened a week before the first Covid lockdown.
Despite this temporary setback, the Nicols have since opened shops in Loch Lomond, Inverness, Stirling and Ayr.
The new Dundee shop on Murraygate, opposite Bonmarche, was formerly Love Yours. It opens on Saturday.
Keepsakes Dundee
The 2,000 sq ft premises stocks more than 7,000 unique items.
Sections inside the shop include jewellery and handbags, handmade candles, canvas and prints, birthday gifts as well as kitchen items.
The new shop is employing seven staff.
Scott explained the concept: “We’re a gift shop but in Scotland people assume that means tartan.
“I’d say we’re a high end gift shop without the high end prices.
“We sell good quality products, a lot made in Scotland. There’s something for every price range.
“Our best sellers are candles, prints and canvases. Anything with a Highland cow seems to sell!”
Brothers’ move into business
Both Scott and Stephen, originally from East Kilbride, have a background in retail. Scott worked as a manager at B&M while his sibling was the boss at a Topps Tiles.
But they always wanted to work for themselves and jumped at the opportunity when the Pitlochry shop went on the market.
“It was an existing business that we took over in Pitlochry,” he explains.
“My mum used to go on holiday there when she was a kid and she carried that on when we were children. We saw the business up for sale in a place we loved and went for it.”
Keepsakes bouncing back from Covid
But their introduction to business owners wasn’t easy.
After accepting the keys in February 2020 and closing the Pitlochry shop to carry out a refurbishment, they opened just before Covid hit.
Although it was “gutting” at the time, the brothers now say it was a blessing.
“We felt a bit lost at first. We were really excited and then it was gutting to close.
“Looking back now we think it was a good thing because when we set up we rushed everything.
“It gave us a good time to reflect and what we wanted to target. It was also time to look at our website. When we could reopen again we just hit the ground running and haven’t looked back.
“We’re hoping people in Dundee come and check us out – if you’re struggling for a gift, you’ll find something here.”
Scott Nicol’s top tip
At a time of lots of shop closures, what are you getting right about bricks and mortar retail?
If something’s not selling, don’t sit on it – there’s no point it taking up space on the shelves. We change our products constantly and that attracts people back. They know there will be something new this week. Keep it fresh. A lot of shops are shutting but there are people who still want to go out and not buy online.
Conversation