Published: Wednesday, 13th January, 2010 1:30pm

Sexy lingerie shop is hit by recession

by Iain Robertson

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B-Dazzled owner Tracy Brown hopes to re-open a shop in Alloa town centre when the economic conditions improve.

B-DAZZLED lingerie shop-owner Tracy Brown has vowed to return next summer after her Alloa business was forced to close.

The Primrose Street business is the latest casualty of the economic malaise that is gripping the entire nation.

And despite some experts predicting the economy is set to emerge from recession this year and return to weak growth, the longest UK recession on record has cost Tracy her dream venture.

She told the Advertiser, "I just simply couldn't afford to keep it open at the moment. Some days there were no customers in the shop at all."

Although it was ultimately a failing economy that sunk the shop, Tracy believes that some of the bad publicity she received from day one didn't help things either.

She continued, "The bad publicity didn't help things, and was something I could have done without."

Her business was at the centre of controversy last summer after local councillor Eddie Carrick was said to have got his knickers in a twist over its opening and was quoted as accusing Tracy of running an unwanted sex shop in the town centre.

Misunderstanding

However, thanks to the Advertiser, the two parties were brought together and the misunderstanding was cleared up.

Although Tracy has had to close the doors for now, she is still trading on her website and says the business should be open again - in a better location - by next summer.

She added, "The shop wasn't taking enough money, but I'm still trading and doing house parties to sell lingerie, and all being well, I hope to open up again next summer, but in a better location this time."

The Advertiser reported the story of Tracy's plans to open the lingerie shop last June after she decided to invest money she won in a competition.

A £250 competition win on Radio Clyde last spring was all it took to provide the catalyst for the entrepreneurial mother-of-three to set up on her own.

After winning the on-air bingo quiz, Tracy wasted no time in turning loot into lingerie.

The former supermarket supervisor used the capital to buy a party planning kit, which allowed her to sell products at house parties in Clackmannanshire.

They were such a success that Tracy decided to take the plunge and open up her own shop.

But the country's economic downturn has forced her to shut the shop in the short-term.

To find out more about B-Dazzled online visit www.b-dazzledbytracy.co.uk