SLOWLY but surely, piece by piece, the scaffolding is removed.

Inside, the panelling, which has so discretely hidden the army of builders, is being removed.

And soon, in a matter of weeks, the refurbished Williams and Griffin will be revealed in all its glory.

The work to transform the Colchester High Street store has taken more than two years and has cost £38 million.

The result is the retail space being increased by 50 per cent to 88,000 square feet.

And it has all been carried out while the shop continued trading.

If nothing else, it has been a triumph of planning, a logistical masterpiece.

When the store is officially re-launched as Fenwick on September 15, its managing director Carl Milton said he will have mixed emotions of both pride and relief.

"Everyone imagines I will have a big sigh of relief the work is completed.

"I have been with the business for two and a half years so, really, I have not known it to be any different.

"It will be a relief that task is finished but I would not say it has been hard.

"The hardest part has been the work on the building while maintaining the shopping experience. We put ourselves under pressure.

"But the easiest part has been the shoppers' reaction.

"Every time we have unveiled a department we have had such an enthusiastic response from the customers, their sighs of delight.

"It has reaffirmed we are doing things the right way."

While looking to the future, efforts have been taken to acknowledge the store's - and Colchester's - history.

Everything is of the highest quality. The architects chosen for the project also worked on Selfridges and Harrods in London.

The most dominant feature will be the vast modernist glass frontage which will lead to the spectacular high vaulted atrium.

But there is also a nod to the store's history and evolution.

The former Jacklin's sweet shop and tea room is now Caffe Nero.

And the former Ratcliffe fishing shop will get a Tudor frontage with the original crown post preserved inside.

George, the swinging monkey in the toy department, will stay come hell or high water as will the festive window display.

"The fittings are bespoke," added Mr Milton, "and they have a narrative which reflects the richness of the store's history."

On the weekend of August 5 and 7, the towering crane, which has dominated the town's skyline for two years, will be removed.

And on August 27, the temporary building, which has at various points housed the Christmas display, shoes and handbags during the works, will also be removed.

And on September 15, Willie Gees, as it is affectionately know, will be renamed Fenwick.

It will be a landmark day but perhaps the time is right.

The atmosphere and the character of the shop has changed.

Willie Gees was so akin to Grace Brothers in the comedy series Are You Being Served? Comfortable, quirky with its mezzanine floors and with unrivalled customer services.

Mr Milton insists the ethos has been preserved but the new store has a more modern and cosmopolitan feel.

It now houses something in the region of a quarter of a million items for sale and more than 70 new brands will be offered as part of its trading portfolio.

Mr Milton said the level of trading had stayed consistent throughout the work and he expected a 30 per cent increase in business, year on year, once the store is relaunched.

Fenwick expects to recoup its £38 million investment within ten years.

"I am optimistic it will be sooner," adds Mr Milton.

Shoppers and sales assistants bustle around the store. It feels busy, lively, happy.

"Fenwick is well positioned to move with the changes. Fenwick and Williams and Griffin are not just about being a retail store. It is about being the heart of a community, crossing generations. It means so much more than a shop."

This is retail therapy - on an impressive scale.