SSE to close remaining Scottish Hydro Electric shops

The Scottish Hydro Electric shops retail outlets are predominantly located in the north of Scotland

SSE has announced plans to close its 37 remaining Scottish Hydro Electric shops in Scotland, with the loss of 119 jobs.

The company has launched a consultation with staff affected by the planned closures.

The retail shops, which sell electrical and white goods, are predominantly sited across the north of Scotland.

The outlets, along with Scottish Hydro Electric's online shop, are expected to close by 15 May. SSE said it aimed to avoid redundancies "wherever possible".

Locations affected include Aberdeen, Crieff, Dingwall, Dunblane, Dundee, Forfar, Lerwick, Oban, Nairn and Perth.

'Loss-making'

SSE director of domestic retail Stephen Forbes said changing shopping habits and more customer choice meant the shops have been loss-making for a number of years.

He said: "Customers' shopping habits have changed considerably since these shops were first opened with more and more people shopping online, especially for larger electrical items.

"We know some of these shops have been on local high streets for a long time so we did not take this decision lightly but footfall and sales have reduced considerably and there is, unfortunately, no realistic prospect of that long-term trend reversing.

"Our priority is to ensure our colleagues are fully supported during this time and we will work to redeploy staff within the SSE group where possible."

SSE employs about 6,000 people across Scotland.

Scottish Hydro Electric shop locations:

Aberdeen, Banchory, Banff, Blairgowrie, Bowmore, Brechin, Brodick, Buckie, Campbeltown, Crieff, Dingwall, Dunblane, Dundee Wellgate, Dunoon, Forfar, Grantown On Spey, Huntly, Inverurie, Kirkwall, Kyle, Lerwick, Lochboisdale, Lochgilphead, Nairn, Oban, Perth, Peterhead, Pitlochry, Portree, Rothesay, Stonehaven, Stornoway, Thurso, Tiree, Tobermory, Ullapool, Wick.