It was the end of an era for a well known Largs shop in the town centre, IBAC, which closed its doors on Saturday December 30. 
The 'News' understands that a national retailer will be moving into the premises in the coming months, but the owners are staying tight-lipped as to who the new operators will be.
IBAC has been in business in Largs for over 40 years, and a statement on their website read: "We have now decided to retire. We would like to thank all the customers who have supported us over the years."
The gift shop has had three directors, Alan and Jennifer Neilson, and Jean Malcolm, and has spent 41 years in Largs, 34 in Main Street, and seven in Nelson Street.
Asked why it was called IBAC, Alan revealed: "When the original shop was in Nelson Street, I thought up the name, because my name is Neilson, and it was putting the 'i' back into Nelson Street. We used to joke that IBAC was the Greek God of gifts!"
There were plenty of well-wishers coming into the shop for one final time, and messages from around the world from as far as Canada and America, thanking IBAC for their long service over the years.
Alan said: "It has been great, we have been well supported by the Largs people, and we have made a lot of friends and met good people. There have been some tears too; it is very sad but we couldn't go on forever. We are all getting older and we decided it was the right decision to retire.
"We are going to refurbish the flats above IBAC. The shop has to be refurbished and made separated, and will be separately leased out.
"We have been well supported over the 41 years and thought it was the right time to go."
There was also an IBAC in Ayr town centre in operation for many years, also owned by the directors, and it closed around eight years ago. Two years ago, another popular local store in Largs, Hasties, closed at the end of the year.