Mini-store details from Debenhams

Debenhams intends to open stores in towns that cast a shopper net over as few as 60,000 people.

Chief executive Rob Templeman is keen to expand the chain's reach with mini stores, and a list is being circulated in Scotland, with towns such as Glenrothes and Gyle on the radar. The smallest target is Elgin, which has a catchment of 58,764, according to Experian.

The stores will carry womenswear, lingerie, beauty and accessories, and could be shoehorned into footprints as small as 12,000 sq ft (1,115 sq m).