Great Western Road in Glasgow is one of the city�s main arteries, lined with everything from niche shops to supermarkets. To test how the recession is affecting this slice of Glasgow, Marisa Duffy visited firms along its length.

Something Special

240 Great Western Road
A family-run shop selling pine and painted furniture, established 25 years ago,it specialises in bedroom and nursery furniture.
Owner: Ian Winter

"Footfall has dropped dramatically," says owner Mr Winter. "Those that do come in are looking around; in the past people would come in and buy something. Any sales we do get are usually very tiny sales or very big sales but then for two or three days there is nothing.

"I've never experienced anything like it, it's not good. November started it, then we had a good January, then in February it fell away, March was atrocious and this is now April, it's dreadful.

"We weren't affected by the previous two recessions, just this one. I'm glad this is our only outlet.

"There are at least three shops in this stretch which in the last couple of months have just given up. I've lost six suppliers in the last year and a quarter.

"This is unprecedented. We've had to cut staff hours, not by much, five or six hours a week, but they think it's a lot."

"One thing which has increased is the number of people who have asked us to refurbish furniture," says Mr Winter. "Instead of buying something new, they bring in their old stuff and get it fixed."

Beautifully Boudoir

362 Great Western Road
Owner: Seona Misumi and Elizabeth Cummings

Originally a photography studio for portrait photography, the business moved into selling hand-made corsets, jewellery and handbags. The current shop opened on April 4.

Co-owner Ms Misumi says: "This is our third year of business, we were previously up on Maryhill Road.

"We started as a photography studio doing portraits for brides to give as presents to their husbands-to-be or for women who reached their target weight. Then we started to sell corsets. Our studio was also getting busier so we decided to expand.

"We moved here because we wanted to be in more of a shopping area. Here we've got a make-up room, a studio and an office.

"The recession hasn't affected our business because it is a treat and because our market is largely brides-to-be, so they think they are only going to do this once. Because of the photoshoot they want to wear something that's a bit special so we sell the handmade corsets."

"People kept asking why on earth we would open a new shop during a recession," says Ms Cummings. "But if we can operate to a certain level now when things are difficult, then when the recession passes we'll do even better."

Galletly & Tubbs

439 Great Western Road
Furniture and Interiors
Owners: Mark Galletly and James Blair

The original gift and interiors shop expanded around 18 months ago, moving into a neighbouring shop to create a new furniture outlet.

Mr Galletly says: "We've had a shop on Great Western Road for almost six years which has always done well. For the last year or so it has been a bit quieter but I think everywhere has felt that -that it's a ticking-over time.

"The new shop, which just opened last year, has had a good response and has been doing quite well. When we first opened we were doing a lot of bigger items, like sofas, but we're now finding it is smaller items that are selling more regularly and there is a slight downturn in bigger items.

"You can see that because of the housing market downturn, particularly with furniture, there is a bit of a knock-on effect. What we are finding though is that people are doing their places up more so we are benefiting from that.

"I think that the people that specialise do better. There aren't enough incentives for small businesses from the government. The rent and the rates for small businesses are too high and they can't sustain it. We're just hoping to get through this and if we do, hopefully people come to you because there are so few places left.

"When we took on the second premises we were feeling quite confident, but then would we have done it had we known what was going to happen? I think we've done well considering."

Caledonia Books

483 Great Western Road
A long-established business which buys and sells second-hand and antiquarian books.

Owner: Charles McBride

"We've been here since 1986. We are more being affected by the decline in the buying of books generally than by the recession as such, although it's obviously going to have an effect," says Mr McBride.

"There have been fewer people through the shop but I can't say there has been a particularly sharp drop since last November.

"We definitely have fewer customers now than we had 10 or 12 years ago. People get their information in different ways now, from the internet. We don't have nearly as many students as we used to have. I think they are one group in particular who get their information from the internet and don't buy books any more, by comparison.

"We have had a lot of people trying to sell us books because of the way things are going, but we have to be more choosy about the books we buy. That is one area where people are trying to earn themselves some money by getting rid of books they aren't using any more."

Strawberry Fields

517 Great Western Road
The specialist children's clothing shop opened in 1978 and stocks labels including Miss Sixty and Diesel.

Owner: Dany Metzstein

"If you are a shopkeeper, things are never as good as you expect them to be, but you are still really grateful for whatever it is," says Ms Metzstein.

"People are more hesitant now and they look much more before they buy, they are much more careful. They tend to come in a couple of times before they make a purchase, whereas before they might have just bought something. There is less impulse buying, more considered buying. If it's a present, they are very keen that it is wrapped and made to look like even more.

"This recession is far more worrying because it is having much larger consequences. The minute banks collapse, it becomes scary. This feels much more serious than previous recessions. For us, if we can weather the storm, things will get better. These things are cyclical, I'm optimistic that way."

Coach House Trust Gallery

518 Great Western Road
Manager: Arthur McGough

The gallery, specialising in art and large wooden sculptures, is the retail outlet for the arts and crafts workshops of the Coach House Trust, which integrates marginalised people back into society.

"We've been surprised that the recession hasn't affected the shop too much at all," says Mr McGough. "From January through until now we have been on an equal par with last year. Whether that will continue into the summer remains to be seen; they say that's when it's really going to hit us. The quality end of the market hasn't been affected so much - we sell pieces right up to £800 - and we're still managing to pick up commissions. There have been lulls - this month we've hardly sold anything - but that's coinciding with the Easter holidays.

"People are referred to the Coach House Trust by social workers, GPs or other agencies. We have had more referrals because of the economic situation."

The trust has big waiting list and is now starting to close down places for people who have not been for more than six weeks.

" We would question whether that place could go to someone else on the waiting list," says Mr McGough.