Glasgow | Retail | News & Developments

[M_Riaz]

I like Her Enthusiasm.

STV

Mary Portas talks Kinky Knickers and feisty Scots style at Frasers in Glasgow

We caught up with the Queen of Shops, and her model army, as she visited her new House of Mary concept store.

Some Cute Bahookies.

[craig lindsay]

Openings.

-Carphone Warehouse have opened on Argyle Street in the former Warehouse unit
-Mary Portas concession has opened in House of Fraser
-Nandos have reopened at the Fort after a refit
-Swarovski have opened at the Fort in the former Gravity unit
-Kwik Nails have opened in Silverburn outside Boots

Near Future Openings.

-Henleys Traditional Sweets are opening in the St Enoch Centre next to Warren James (27th April)
-Original Penguin are opening on Buchanan Street in the former All Saints unit (early 2012)
-Jane Norman are opening in the St Enoch Centre (no date)
-Omega are opening on Buchanan Street in the former Goldsmiths unit (no date)
-Tesco Metro are opening on Sauchiehall Street in the former Littlewoods unit (no date)
-Pret A Manger are opening on Queen Street in the former McColls unit (no date)

-Iceland are opening at Strathkelvin Retail Park in the former Peacock unit (13th June)

-Clarks are opening at Silverburn (April)
-Van Mildert are opening at Silverburn (no date)

-Krispy Kreme are opening at Braehead (August)

Far Future Openings.

-Forever 21 are opening in the Atlas Development (March 2013)
-Banana Republic are opening in unit R1 in the Atlas Development (March 2013)
-Paperchase are opening in unit R2 in the Atlas Development (March 2013)
-Fat Face are opening/ relocating? in unit R4 in the Atlas Development (March 2013)
-Sketchers are opening in unit R5 in the Atlas Development (March 2013)
-Office Shoes are opening/relocating? in unit R6 in the Atlas Development (March 2013)
-Watches of Switzerland are opening/relocating in unit R7 in the Atlas Development (March 2013)
-Monsoon are opening/relocating? in the Atlas Development (March 2013)
-Waitrose are opening in Helensburgh (2013)

[craig lindsay]

Goldsmiths in the Argylle Arcade were closed yesterday, so I imagine work will soon begin for the opening of Omega.

[Jord]

Krispy Kreme at Braehead? Amazing!

[لا إله إلا الله]

i would rather have seen Krispy Kreme open near city centre

[Glasgow Shopper]

There will be Krispy Kremes in the centre of Glasgow Im sure but they havent announced the locations yet.

[Jord]

Originally Posted by Glasgow Shopper

There will be Krispy Kremes in the centre of Glasgow Im sure but they havent announced the locations yet.

When did they even confirm the Braehead opening?

[craig lindsay]

Originally Posted by Jord

When did they even confirm the Braehead opening?

Glasgow Shopper posted it a few pages ago..

Originally Posted by Glasgow Shopper

Following the completion of the Edinburgh Outlet this summer Krispy Kreme Stores will be opened in Central Scotland.It has been rumoured that one will open in Breaehead In August.Krispy Kreme will currently not confirm nor deny that Rumour.

[Collatz]

Originally Posted by Collatz

Has Smallbone of Devizes closed down on Ingram Street? I was walking past the other day and I'm not sure if it's shut, moved or undergoing refurbishment.

Signs in the window says Rossi is moving in here. Does anyone know if Smallbone has moved elsewhere?

[RapidTaco]

Originally Posted by Collatz

Signs in the window says Rossi is moving in here. Does anyone know if Smallbone has moved elsewhere?

Smallbone has closed, not relocated. Not surprised, I've never seen anyone in it.

[fazaz]

Your resident Krispy Kreme expert here....

They need to open their 'hot light' store at Edinburgh Hermiston Gait before they can expand in Scotland. Unfortunately this 'hot light' store has been delayed a few times, with it originally due to open late 2011, then first half of 2012, and now KK are saying end of 2012 - so no KK in Braehead in August I am afraid

Once open in Hermiston Gait, they will start opening kiosks and coffee bars throughout Central Scotland, and Braehead

Their next CONFIRMED 'hot light' KK store opening is at The Metrocentre in Newcastle / Gateshead, which is currently being built, and will open in September

[JohnnyFive]

I cannot understand all this brouhaha over Krispy Kreme.

Am I missing something? I went so far as to try a couple of their different doughnuts while abroad just to see what all the fuss was about but was suitably unimpressed.

They tasted remarkably like...... doughnuts.

[RapidTaco]

Originally Posted by JohnnyFive

I cannot understand all this brouhaha over Krispy Kreme.

Am I missing something? I went so far as to try a couple of their different doughnuts while abroad just to see what all the fuss was about but was suitably unimpressed.

They tasted remarkably like...... doughnuts.

I agree entirely. Couldn't give a flying doughnut about Krispy Kreme. More stodgy crap to stuff our fat faces with.

[craig lindsay]

Henleys Traditional Sweets have opened in the St Enoch Centre.

[flange]

Originally Posted by craig lindsay

Goldsmiths in the Argylle Arcade were closed yesterday, so I imagine work will soon begin for the opening of Omega.

Goldsmiths due to be closed for four months to renovate to an Omega Boutique, from this planning application for hoardings around the store.

32 Buchanan Street City Centre Glasgow G1 3LB

Display of temporary window graphics during store re-fit for a maximum period of four months

https://publicaccess.glasgow.gov.uk/...=M2Q0SVEX0FZ00

[jim.st]

Noticed that Pizza Express are moving into Princes Sq basement.which got me thinking any update on Zizzi moving into the back of Borders, still hope for something a bit more special for such a stunning building.

[RapidTaco]

Originally Posted by jim.st

Noticed that Pizza Express are moving into Princes Sq basement.which got me thinking any update on Zizzi moving into the back of Borders, still hope for something a bit more special for such a stunning building.

Yeah I had heard about Pizza Express going into Princes Square. Gone all quiet on the Zizzi front, I would also prefer a better class of restaurant for that building.

I noticed also that Slanj are moving across the road to the old Scotsman office on St Vincent St. Their current location would be ideal for a decent restaurant being so close to the likes of All Bar One, Paperinos @ 78, Pesto and Carluccios.

[flange]

Drewdle a new stationary brand are looking to open in Glasgow, they recently signed to open their first store at The Centre in Livingston. http://www.shopping-centre.co.uk/new...w_brands_.html

• Now seeking 5 new stores to open during March 2012
• Between 300 and 800 sq ft
• Initial target locations include: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle
• High quality shopping malls with good demographics
• Strong footfall locations
• Can temp units
• Other cosmopolitan areas with a concentration of students and young professionals

Drewdle is a hot stationery brand. With bold, vibrant colours, we are fashion oriented and very different. You’ll love to hold our pens and pencils, smell our rubbers and show off our folders. We design and manufacture an inspiring range of stationery, from pens with an infernal integrated ball bearing maze to furry pencils, from the knobbly bouncy pencil case to the oh-so-sweet caricature bookends. This stuff will have you wanting to hold it, wanting to play with it, to show it off, to draw, to doodle (can you see where we got our name from?), you’ll even be offering to take the notes in meetings.

This isn’t a kids brand, although kids will adore it and beg you to buy them a collection and when you do, you’ll want to pinch it from them. This is for the student, the architect, your marketing company’s achingly trendy offices and for corporate gifts at Christmas. You can even give it to the actuary in your life, they’ll love it too (well, 99.9% of the time). It’s not expensive either. With pens and pencils starting at 50p, it’s pocket money territory for the kids and it won’t break the bank if you then secretly buy the set for yourself. You won’t be able to miss us in all the good shopping malls in the UK, pencils are small and so are our shops so don’t rush past us. If we don’t have something in stock, we can order it for you and have it delivered to your house. If you’re shy or just too busy to shop, you can come and buy from us online.

http://illuminantbrands.com/drewdle/

[Glasgow Shopper]

The juice bar S blended next to Sunglass Hut in Buchanan Galleries has closed down. In Sauchiehall Street A Pound Shop has taken a Temp Let of Select which was a clothing Store. In Argyle Street the Modernisation of Marks And Spencer has commenced in the basement.

[M_Riaz]

One of the reason why i got out of retailing while the going was good.


Herald

Thursday 3 May 2012

Battle launched to save Scotland's city centres

On the day voters go to the polls in 32 local authority areas, household names such as the Bank of Scotland, The Body Shop, Santander and Superdrug are among dozens of firms going to court to get their rates reduced.
The move threatens to blow a hole in the Scottish Government's budget as firms seek to claw back millions already earmarked for public spending.
Retailers including nurseries and small shopkeepers are joining the big names in calling for help from the Government, saying the challenging economic situation is not being reflected in the rates they pay.
Court cases have been launched by retailers in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Kirkcaldy and elsewhere as firms contest the size of their bills.
Current business rates were calculated in 2008, before the extent of the downturn became apparent. The amount firms pay depends on the size of their shop front and varies between roughly £300 and £1500 per month.
Retailers say the current tariffs are heaping an "intolerable" burden on top of declining profits from falling sales that have already forced a number of firms to go to the wall.
In February, the number of empty shops hit an all-time high, with, on average, nearly 15% of all town centre units lying vacant as shoppers cut back on their spending in an effort to cope with high food and fuel prices and rising mortgage rates.
Last night, Garry Clark, head of policy and public affairs at the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, warned that business rates were putting an unnecessary strain on already struggling retailers.
He said: "We believe that it is important for our system of non-domestic rates to recognise that businesses today are effectively being billed on the basis of their performance immediately before the Scottish economy dropped into a precipice during 2008-09; a situation from which we have still not fully recovered.
"This is clearly unfair and we would hope that the law could find a way to recognise this."
Colin Borland, the Federation of Small Businesses' (FSB) head of external affairs in Scotland, said the current rates system was a "headache" for its members.
He said: "Anecdotal evidence suggests that the system has not adapted well to the changing economic circumstance of the past five years.
"If the law means that the rates system can't adapt to the economic circumstances that we're facing, perhaps it's time we look at the law."
Scottish Retail Consortium spokeswoman Sarah Cordey said: "If property costs become too steep, the sad likelihood is that more shops will close, which drags down an entire area and makes it harder for businesses of all kinds to thrive."
The most recent challenge to the business rates system has come from retailers in Glasgow's Sauchiehall Street, who successfully argued for a reduction when they appealed to the local Joint Valuation Board.
The firms that launched the appeal as a group included the Royal Bank of Scotland, Schuh, Greaves Sports, Sports World, Phones 4u, Optical Express and Thorntons, as well as Savers Health and Beauty, Lush, Barratts Shoes, the Outdoor Group and MM Henderson.
However, their case will now have to be heard again after the Assessors Office for Glasgow, represented by Geoff Clarke, QC, successfully appealed to the Court of Session to have the board's decision reversed.
The court is also due to hear cases later this month on behalf of retailers in the Overgate shopping centre in Dundee and the Mercat Centre in Kirkcaldy, and many others are in the pipeline.
Peter Muir, director of rating at Colliers International, who worked on the Glasgow case, said: "As the rental market outwith the established prime retail areas declines, appeals will continue to be raised by ratepayers which, if not agreed, are likely to be listed for hearing before Valuation Appeal Committees."
Mr Muir added: "Annual rates are a significant burden on any business and if this burden cannot be reduced, challenges will continue.
"As to whether the Committee decision is then subject to appeal will be down to the losing party. I can, however, see more cases appearing in the Court of Session as long as the current market struggles."
A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: "We have made clear on a number of occasions that estimates of future business rates income figures take into account a range of factors, including the impact of losses from successful valuation appeals. These income estimates are kept under regular review as more up- to-date data becomes available.
"The Scottish Government has made a commitment that any shortfall in business rates income will not fall on either businesses or local government."