But there is some hope the city will weather the storm better than its competitors and be well-placed to take advantage of the upturn in the economy — provided it arrives before too long.

Chairman of the City Centre Action Group, Peter Leyland, said he believed Dundee had been the “little shining star” of the east coast, as Aberdeen had been hit harder in recent months and Edinburgh was suffering from the uncertainty over its tram project.

But he warned the country had to start pulling out of recession by the end of the year or the consequences could be dire.

“If we don’t get it over and done with, there is going to be more blood on the floor and a lot more empty shops,” Mr Leyland said.

Dundee is far from alone in seeing city centre shops close — the Government has already suggested using vacant High Street shops in England as temporary art galleries or learning centres to keep them in use.

Scottish Retail Consortium figures for February showed sales down 0.9% compared to the same month last year — the worst decline since August 2000.

A combination of factors have led to retailers closing their doors in Dundee. Many were part of national chains whose financial woes sealed their fate, some were locally-owned businesses that simply could not make ends meet. In some cases, shops have moved elsewhere and the property owners have not found anyone else to take over.

Whatever the circumstances, their demise has left no shortage of premises lying unused.

Jewellers, travel agents, mobile phone shops, cafes and clothes shops are just some of the businesses to close in the main shopping streets.

The two main malls, the Overgate and Wellgate, have had their share of closures too, as has the Forum centre.

Mr Leyland noted that most of the casualties to date had been chains rather than independent retailers.

“I think we have been lucky. I have seen what is happening down south and some town centres have been decimated — they have lost maybe 40 or 50% of the shops.

“I think we will have to grin and bear it, although rates are disproportionately high in the city centre and that is one of the reasons why we have not got more of the shops filled.”

Asked about the future of Dundee as a retailing centre, he said the City Centre Action Group was upbeat.

“We are confident. We have the waterfront development coming through and although that will make things tough while its under way, the long-term potential is fantastic.”

The Wellgate Centre has several empty units, not least the large store occupied until last year by the collapsed Woolworths chain, and it has seen a drop in the number of visitors.

Centre manager John Morton agreed the retailing environment was a tough one at present.

He said, “I think there are quite a few empty units throughout the city centre, here, in the Murraygate, the High Street and the Overgate. I don’t see many retailers coming into the city for now.”

Mr Morton is coming up to 20 years in charge of the Wellgate and has seen it through ups and downs. He has also played his part in developing the City Centre Action Group.

He pointed out not everyone would be badly affected in a downturn as some shops remained “star performers” who would continue to attract customers and whose sales would hold up well.

Although not naming the Wellgate’s own stars, he said, “There are ones that do better than others.”

In addition to Woolworths, the centre has also lost fashion store MK One, part of a national chain that had been suffering serious financial problems throughout 2008.

Other shops to close their doors include Knights Jewellers, Adams and Rosebys and there are also vacant units in the food court, although a substantial majority of the centre’s shops are let.

Mr Morton said visitor numbers had been “slightly down” of late, especially since the loss of Woolworths.

Comparing Dundee to Scotland’s other big cities, he said, “I think we are probably on a par with them — Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh have all suffered losses.

“What we need is stabilisation of the financial situation throughout the country.

“We need to sort out the problems with the banks and get people back into jobs.”

Andrew Dandie, a partner at chartered surveyors Graham and Sibbald, said the picture was similar in city centres nationally.

He said demand for retail units in Dundee at present was “not too bad” but he indicated businesses were looking for good deals and might consider outlying areas such as Perth Road or Broughty Ferry rather than the city centre.