Edinburgh named prime Scottish location for leading retail brands
Edinburgh is the preferred location for top retail brands opening in Scotland, according to a report.
Colliers’ national retail barometer found the Scottish capital has out-performed its biggest rival Glasgow in recent years.
The barometer tracked the openings of ten international brands – including Michael Kors, Victoria’s Secret and Zara Home – to see where they chose to target their initial phases of expansion beyond London.
Leeds was the top choice with the opening of six of the selected stores while Edinburgh attracted three and Glasgow zero. It was found international retailers preferred new property developments and sought affluent areas and tourist destinations that provided extra global vis- ibility for their brand when expanding outside of London.
John Duffy, director with Colliers International in Scotland, said the result was “somewhat surprising” as Glasgow remains the second largest retail hub in the UK behind London and that Scotland’s largest city may be lagging behind due to a lack of new developments.
He said: “In Scotland there has been very little premium retail development in recent years.”
Ross Wilkie, also a director with Colliers in Scotland, said Edinburgh looked set to gain more ground on Glasgow in the years ahead due to the St James Centre redevelopment.