Bra shop owner Sheena thanks 'lovely customers' as she retires after 26 years

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

A high street shop which has stood the test of time will close at the end of the month, after more than a quarter of a century in the town centre.

Sheena’s has long been a valued retail outlet for underwear, lingerie, hosiery and nightwear for 26 years, but the time has come for owner Sheena Munro to retire and she is closing the shop at the end of September unless a buyer comes forward.

We asked Sheena what prompted her to set up a bra shop, back in 1998, and she said: “At the time, I had been ill for quite some time, and before that, I’d been nursing in the community.

“When I got better, I thought I can’t go back to what I was doing, so what will I do? There was a shop along the high street called Anne Young’s, a general draper’s. She sold underwear, but I thought, you can’t even buy a bra or anything in Forres. And I thought ‘I could do that’.”

The venture begins

“So I just sort of started making enquiries around about, asked for advice and things like that. I went to the job centre and they sent me on a business course through in Elgin. Then I thought, right, I need to look for premises. So it was when I came to see Alex Stuart and he showed me this place and we agreed on rent and all sorts and he was absolutely wonderful to me.”

The shop, at 30 High Street, had been Stuart’s toy shop and before that a beauty shop and picture framers. It is now owned by Michael and Maria Start who have The House of Automata where Stuart’s Cycle Shop had been.

She recalled that once she opened a new business, it was commonplace for reps to visit and she soon became a supplier of Playtex, Triumph, Sloggi and other top brands.

She bemoaned the fact that the major bra companies were cutting off small independent companies like hers, and instead selling their products online.

Everything changed

“They don’t make bras here now. They’re all made overseas. Everything’s changed. It’s not the same anymore.”

However, she says she has always been busy, which she attributes to the fact she has always provided a personal service.

“When somebody comes in and I’ve fitted them up properly for a bra, they always come back because they’ve had that personal service. And they know that I wouldn’t sell them anything that’s not right. I wouldn’t do that just to get a sale,” she added.

Asked what changes she has seen over the past 26 years, she said: “There was no Tesco in Forres, no Asda in Elgin. There were no Lidl’s anywhere. There wasn’t anything like that, nothing like that at all. Lots of family-owned businesses have gone. There are only the likes of Murdoch’s the Butchers, Tom Logie’s down on Bridge Street, and Maclean’s Bakery who are still here. We don’t have any shoe shops or anything anymore.”

Sheena finished by saying she’s loved every day in the shop: “I’ve just had lovely customers all these years. I’ve never woke up in the morning and said: ‘Oh God! I’ve got to go to work this morning’.”

We had some lovely comments wishing Sheena well when we first posted news of her retirement in our Forres Loves Local Facebook group. You can add your own here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/forresloveslocal/posts/1576678136536370/ and we’ll let Sheena see them all before she closes.

The shop at 30 High Street, Forres will be available to rent from the beginning of October. Enquiries can be made by calling Maria Start on 07811 827357.