The balance of power between Scotland’s two major cities has always been reflected in their retail provision.
Speak to some and you’ll hear the opinion that Glasgow is miles better for shopping, while others will tell you that if you want luxury retailers, Edinburgh’s the place to be.
For Urban Outfitters, landfall in Scotland was first made in Glasgow in the early years of the last decade. And it has taken until just before Christmas 2009 to welcome shoppers to an Edinburgh outpost, housed in a former Zavvi branch.
This is probably the best looking shop in the formerly regal Princes Street at the moment. Whether it’s the exterior with the artfully constructed half-lit, half-unlit logo that stretches across the entire fascia, or the many distinct areas inside the store, this is a good reason for shoppers in Scotland’s administrative capital to celebrate.
Inside the three-floor shop, with menswear, as usual, in the basement, it is the staircase that really captures the eye. This has all the hallmarks of an Urban Outfitters store. It’s big, it has landings, and it has been constructed to appear deliberately unfinished with an acreage of raw concrete.
It’s also worth paying attention to the semi-library area on the ground floor, where shoppers can relax in clubby-looking armchairs.
The store manager was clearly excited by her store and was quick to point out that it was better than Glasgow - which it is, but then it is much newer. But Glasgow shoppers are not to be short-changed.
A refit of the store in that city is understood to be on the drawing board.
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