SSE to close retail shops
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SSE has announced it is to close its 37 remaining Scottish Hydro Electric shops - including one in Huntly, along with its associated online shop.
The shops in Buckie and Banff will also close. The three stores employ a total of four people.
SSE has entered into a consultation with 119 employees affected by the planned closures and will discuss possible redeployment within the SSE network.
The retail shops sell electrical and white goods and are predominantly sited across the north of the country.
It aims to avoid redundancies wherever possible, although if this is unavoidable, enhanced terms will be offered to affected employees during the consultation process.
Stephen Forbes, SSE director of domestic retail, said changing shopping habits and more customer choice mean the shops have now 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."
All 37 shops and the online shop are expected to be closed by May 15.
SSE employs around 6000 people across Scotland and pumps around £1 billion into the Scottish economy.
