What started with a £250 grant from the Princes Trust grew into a home business, then opened as The Pop Shop in the heart of Elgin and expanded into the upper floor that now supports a diverse community.
From small beginnings, Peter Ralston has grown his passion for gaming and collectables into a mainstay of the town centre.
Over the last nine years the colourful store has helped nurture a community where gamers play long into the night.
After expanding the Thunderton Place business to cover a second floor he continues to harbour hopes of expanding The Pop Shop again to Elgin High Street.
- He told the Press and Journal why he fears further expansion is impossible.
- How the gaming community and the shop support each other.
- And explains why Elgin’s shopping scene has a “strong community vibe”.
Tapping into Elgin gaming community
Mr Ralston, 39, describes himself as a “lifelong geek” who has always harboured a passion for science fiction and gaming.
Fed up working as a chef, he started buying and selling Pop Figures, action figures and other collectables on eBay.
When that grew to the point of either needing a bigger house or a shop, he plumped for the latter and sunk £10,000 of his savings into The Pop Shop – boosted by a £250 from The Princes Trust to get him started with some stock.
Two years ago he seized the opportunity to expand upstairs when a beauty salon closed, converting it into tables for board game enthusiasts to meet.
Now he’s open until nearly 10pm on Thursdays and Fridays while up to 30 gamers pit their wits against each other.
Mr Ralston said: “There’s a big gaming community in Elgin. We got a bit of help when Junners closed, they gave us the details for Games Workshop so we could take over their Warhammer supply.
“When we just had the downstairs people were always asking for a place to play but I just didn’t have the space.
“We run tournaments now and get people coming up from Edinburgh and Glasgow to take part, as well as from Aberdeen, Inverness and the places around Elgin.”
Making The Pop Shop a safe space for customers
Establishing and growing the community around The Pop Shop is not Mr Ralston’s only motivation, though. He wants to help create safe spaces in Elgin.
He said: “A lot of people who are into gaming are usually somewhere on the spectrum or have anxiety issues.
“I’ve been really keen to give them a safe place to come in and play and just be themselves.
“I also do a monthly men’s mental health support group for those who might be too nervous for a proper gaming night.”
Dreams to expand The Pop Shop onto High Street seem impossible
With an established business, a supportive community and a town centre presence already, Mr Ralston would like to expand The Pop Shop in Elgin.
However, he believes those aspirations could remain dreams forever without changes to support local businesses.
Mr Ralston said: “I would like a bigger place. I would really like to move to the High Street too.
“Unfortunately if I move up to the next size of property then I would have to start paying business rates, which isn’t affordable with the income I have.
“A lot of properties need a lot of work too, so it would be costing me more money before I even get started. Some of the properties on the High Street have trees growing through the roof.
“Being on the High Street should be what everyone wants, it has more footfall which usually means people notice your business more.
“I would prefer to be on the High Street, but it’s just out of range at the moment with the business rates.”
‘Strong community vibe in Elgin town centre’
With nine years of Elgin town centre trading experience, The Pop Shop has survived while many of the national chains have moved away.
Mr Ralston believes a “strong community vibe” among traders and shoppers is contributing to a positive environment for locally owned businesses.
He said: “People like to do the town centre down and say it’s dead, but there are actually a lot of people going about.
“We’re on a good walking route from UHI Moray and get a lot of the students in just from passing footfall.
“We actually started selling sweets and drinks because of that, and a few will come in now especially to buy cans of Monster or whatever.”
However, the business owner believes Thunderton Place is more deserving of a spotlight during town centre talks.
He said: “It does feel like a bit of a forgotten street sometimes. It feels like there is always a lot of talk about the High Street, Batchen Street and South Street.
“We’ve got some good businesses on Thunderton Place, so it would be good for the street to get some more attention.”
Read more from Elgin town centre businesses
- Why Elgin High Street will always be the place to be for Little the Jewellers
- ‘The business rates are ridiculous’: The ONE change Sound and Vision would make after 40 years of business in Elgin
- Take a look inside Elgin’s rebuilt Poundland building as it moves closer to opening
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