Jenners to close

[Ribble]

20 hours ago, i8hibsh said:

Yet another victory for Amazon as we head even closer to the monopoly utopia our governments are clearly desperate for.

 

 

 

Boohoo Clothing taking over the Debenhams brand with the aim of becoming the Amazon of the fashion and beauty world

[felix]

12 minutes ago, Ribble said:

 

Boohoo Clothing taking over the Debenhams brand with the aim of becoming the Amazon of the fashion and beauty world

 

Yep. And funnily enough, they don't want the stores, just the label & goods 

[Governor Tarkin]

14 minutes ago, Ribble said:

 

Boohoo Clothing taking over the Debenhams brand with the aim of becoming the Amazon of the fashion and beauty world

 

Is that not the mob who were investigated for putting their employees at risk of the Covid a few months back?

Their top man came across as a right ****.

[Ribble]

1 hour ago, Governor Tarkin said:

 

Is that not the mob who were investigated for putting their employees at risk of the Covid a few months back?

Their top man came across as a right ****.

No idea, only recognised the name as I’ve bought some of their gym gear in the past

[davemclaren]

5 minutes ago, jonnothejambo said:

 

Ah the good old Deutscher Markt.

 

Where you got totally ripped off by stallholders charging a fortune for utter tutt.

 

Ho Ho Ho...

 

Yes, another disappointing place. 

[The Internet]

22 hours ago, i8hibsh said:

Yet another victory for Amazon as we head even closer to the monopoly utopia our governments are clearly desperate for.

 

Shop in jenners a lot did you? 

[i8hibsh]

7 minutes ago, Mauricio Pinilla said:

 

Shop in jenners a lot did you? 

 

 

No, for the simple reason Jenners is not designed for people to "shop there a lot".  It is for tourists, christmas, shopping sprees etc.  It was an Edinburgh institution. The last bastian of our retail identity.

[All roads lead to Gorgie]

If alternative uses for the building are being discussed why not turn the larger areas like the Mens department into auditoriums for music gigs and the smaller rooms into cafes or quality retail space for independents. Make it something for the locals to enjoy, not a Hotel or another tartan tat shop, please not another one! 

[Taffin]

14 minutes ago, All roads lead to Gorgie said:

If alternative uses for the building are being discussed why not turn the larger areas like the Mens department into auditoriums for music gigs and the smaller rooms into cafes or quality retail space for independents. Make it something for the locals to enjoy, not a Hotel or another tartan tat shop, please not another one! 

 

It could be a spectacular venue for a multitude of things. Really like your idea of music and cafés. Throw is some bars etc, a real multi-functional place for Edinburgh people.

[Zico]

49 minutes ago, i8hibsh said:

 

 

No, for the simple reason Jenners is not designed for people to "shop there a lot".  It is for tourists, christmas, shopping sprees etc.  It was an Edinburgh institution. The last bastian of our retail identity.

In the 1980s maybe. Recently, it was Sports Direct in a nice building. 

[i8hibsh]

4 minutes ago, Zico said:

In the 1980s maybe. Recently, it was Sports Direct in a nice building. 

 

 

But it was our Sports Direct

 

 

 

[All roads lead to Gorgie]

3 minutes ago, Taffin said:

 

It could be a spectacular venue for a multitude of things. Really like your idea of music and cafés. Throw is some bars etc, a real multi-functional place for Edinburgh people.

If planners see sense it would be an ideal setting, near the station, main bus routes and the trams. Would be very popular with locals who still see Princes Street as their street ahead of George Street which doesn't have the same buzz during the day at least.

[132goals1958]

3 hours ago, jonnothejambo said:

 

Being born in 1957 i totally agree with you. 

 

It's an absolute mess nowadays.

 

Sad the Jacey Cinema had to close all those years ago. An iconic venue.

 

My that is a blast from the past. I think they had some risque films now and then ---not that I ever went. 😀  Tame by today's standard of course.

[otterjohn]

Really sad news.I loved going in at Christmas Time and always fancied spending a night in there and sitting by the tree.Like most folk we struggled financially with young kids so it was normally just a look I worked all the hours I could and at last one year we could afford to buy Christmas tree and decorations there We had to get the tree delivered but I remember how proud the 5 of us were walking along Princess Street with our bags full of Jenners deckies. We even managed to go to the then new Disney shop for Disney videos What a day that was Stopped at Saiyems on the way home for an Indian and it snowed as well Perfect family day

[Stu_HMFC]

54 minutes ago, otterjohn said:

Really sad news.I loved going in at Christmas Time and always fancied spending a night in there and sitting by the tree.Like most folk we struggled financially with young kids so it was normally just a look I worked all the hours I could and at last one year we could afford to buy Christmas tree and decorations there We had to get the tree delivered but I remember how proud the 5 of us were walking along Princess Street with our bags full of Jenners deckies. We even managed to go to the then new Disney shop for Disney videos What a day that was Stopped at Saiyems on the way home for an Indian and it snowed as well Perfect family day

Sounds really nice 👍. 
 

I used to go see Santa when I was a kid early childhood memories. Getting to go to the toy shop down the bottom getting toy cars It felt massive and so busy like Macys in NY it’s a shame but it’s only going to get worse for shops on the high street . I wouldn’t like to imagine what it will look like in 20 years time princess st will be full of student flats or more hotels charging 300 plus a night for a view onto the castle . 

[otterjohn]

4 minutes ago, Stu_HMFC said:

Sounds really nice 👍. 
 

I used to go see Santa when I was a kid early childhood memories. Getting to go to the toy shop down the bottom getting toy cars It felt massive and so busy like Macys in NY it’s a shame but it’s only going to get worse for shops on the high street . I wouldn’t like to imagine what it will look like in 20 years time princess st will be full of student flats or more hotels charging 300 plus a night for a view onto the castle . 

Yep.We really need someone with a bit vision to stop this beautiful city going downhill even more

[Dusk_Till_Dawn]

One of my earliest memories is of going to Jenners to look at the He Man toys. A guess it’s just evolution but wtf is going to happen with all these massive properties? They can’t all be hotels 

[trotter]

On 25/01/2021 at 13:17, Jambo-Jimbo said:

Online shopping isn't to blame for killing Princes street, the damage was done much earlier when out of town retail parks became the thing, the internet was just the final nail.

 

I don't live in Edinburgh, but because the Borders used to be utter crap shopping wise we used to do nealy all our shopping in Edinburgh, this was in the 80's.

We used to come through, park at St. John's hill or closer if we could get a space and walk down to St. James' centre then have a walk along Princes street, this went on for years on a damn near weekly basis, then Cameron Toll opened up and we'd sometimes go there instead of St. James' centre, then when Kinnaird park & then Straiton came along there was no need whatsoever to go into the centre of town, simply because we could get the same shops out of town and this was pre-internet days in the late 80's early 90's. 

 

As a result visits to Princes street & the centre of Edinburgh became fewer and fewer, there simply wasn't the need anymore. 

Then when Galashiels got a Tesco Extra & a big Asda and it's own retail parks opened up then there wasn't the need to travel through to even Kinnaird park or Straiton on a regular basis anymore, nowadays it's once in a blue moon when we are anywhere near Edinburgh for shopping.

 

Now I'd bet there are tens of thousands of other families living outwith of Edinburgh who did similar to what we did, I'd even bet locals stopped shopping in Princes street and started shopping at the new retail parks.

 

The seeds of the demise of the high street were sown long before the internet, the internet was just the final straw.

 

Brilliant summation but you missed stating one point outright - although your reference to retail parks sort of covers it. 

Edinburgh Councils relentless war on the car helped drive people to the out of town places, giving them free reign to expand to the point people didn't want to go into town because of the pain in the arse it has become. I'm fully supportive of doing things to halt climate change, but just taking away cars without providing meaningful substitutions (be that better bus service, trams, etc) the council certainly has not helped the situation. 

[felix]

1 hour ago, trotter said:

Brilliant summation but you missed stating one point outright - although your reference to retail parks sort of covers it. 

Edinburgh Councils relentless war on the car helped drive people to the out of town places, giving them free reign to expand to the point people didn't want to go into town because of the pain in the arse it has become. I'm fully supportive of doing things to halt climate change, but just taking away cars without providing meaningful substitutions (be that better bus service, trams, etc) the council certainly has not helped the situation. 

Edinburgh was designed before the car was invented.  Not therefore fair to say CEC have a "war" with cars, or that any council drove shoppers to retail parks. It's like saying a crap UK Tourist Board, drove tourists abroad, when air travel became affordable and convenient.

[Malinga the Swinga]

My dad was the Santa at Jenners for years after he retired from his work. Loved doing it, although we had to keep his grandchildren from going to see Santa in his grotto there in case they recognised him. 

 

Edited January 29, 2021 by Malinga the Swinga

[Cade]

Due to the physical nature of the inner-city, especially in the old town where the geography itself forms natural bottleneck, Edinburgh city centre is not able to cope with 21st century traffic levels. Unless yer gonna do something mental like the 1960s motorway plan (the West Approach Road being the only bit actually constructed), then you have to limit the amount of traffic coming into town.

Economics has almost done that for us, with hardly any shops being left in the city centre any more and less need to travel TO the city centre.

Better routes to bypass it need to be investigated.

 

[The Natural Order]

The department Store is an outdated shopping concept and has been for the last 20 years. Most if not all will disappear eventually. I'm 43 and I'll bet I outlive John Lewis.

 

The biggest problem has always been the people running retail companies. They're so busy marveling at what they created they fail to notice the world changing around them. They become old and irrelevant. That's what happened to the likes of C&A, Littlewoods, Mothercare, Woolworths and Debenhams. It will happen to others. HMV can't have many years left, Game, What's left of Argos (the most stupid shopping concept ever), they'll all be gone soon.

Edited January 29, 2021 by The Natural Order

[Cade]

1 hour ago, The Natural Order said:

What's left of Argos (the most stupid shopping concept ever), they'll all be gone soon.

Sainsburys own Argos, they're already scaled back their Argos branded stores and lots of it is click&collect at a Sainsburys branch. 
Cheaper to send drivers out from a warehouse to shops they already run than to pay for Argos stores to stay open.

[ArcticJambo]

6 hours ago, felix said:

Edinburgh was designed before the car was invented.  Not therefore fair to say CEC have a "war" with cars, or that any council drove shoppers to retail parks. It's like saying a crap UK Tourist Board, drove tourists abroad, when air travel became affordable and convenient.

While I don't particularly disagree with you there is certainly a large number of folks that might have driven into the city centre and parked in George St, Queen Street and all points therein that are more likely to spend (support) the shops than say your typical small time laddie heading in on the #26 to Virgin Records with the intention of maybe picking something up in the bargain bucket and maybe dropping another pound on a wimpy!  They've had the whack-a-car mallet out for a very long time.

[felix]

7 hours ago, ArcticJambo said:

While I don't particularly disagree with you there is certainly a large number of folks that might have driven into the city centre and parked in George St, Queen Street and all points therein that are more likely to spend (support) the shops than say your typical small time laddie heading in on the #26 to Virgin Records with the intention of maybe picking something up in the bargain bucket and maybe dropping another pound on a wimpy!  They've had the whack-a-car mallet out for a very long time.

It's true - the council have actively tried to discourage city centre car use, in favour of public transport,  for many years now. I'd cautiously support them, since the alternative's far worse, however , in the context of the thread - I'd also say Jenners demise has little to do with  car usage, and everything to do with online retail. 

If Jenners was in Ocean Terminal or The Gyle, it'd still be going under imo; just like Debenhams .

[ArcticJambo]

1 hour ago, felix said:

It's true - the council have actively tried to discourage city centre car use, in favour of public transport,  for many years now. I'd cautiously support them, since the alternative's far worse, however , in the context of the thread - I'd also say Jenners demise has little to do with  car usage, and everything to do with online retail. 

If Jenners was in Ocean Terminal or The Gyle, it'd still be going under imo; just like Debenhams .

Undoubtedly, I'd argue that clothes are perhaps the last bastion on which to focus survival for the high street stores, and even then when companies like ASOS or whatever they're called basically allow you to wear the garments and then send them back it's still going to be a stretch for even upmarket stores like Jenners or the Mulberry Mews lot.

 

Just have to hope that the utterly unique opportunity that is Princes St can be harnessed by our elected officials; based on the past, I, unfortunately don't hold out much hope.

[felix]

13 minutes ago, ArcticJambo said:

Undoubtedly, I'd argue that clothes are perhaps the last bastion on which to focus survival for the high street stores, and even then when companies like ASOS or whatever they're called basically allow you to wear the garments and then send them back it's still going to be a stretch for even upmarket stores like Jenners or the Mulberry Mews lot.

 

Just have to hope that the utterly unique opportunity that is Princes St can be harnessed by our elected officials; based on the past, I, unfortunately don't hold out much hope.

👍.

I've an  interest in a couple of the big Princes St units and  have some faith in the council's planners who, since 2007 and their Development Framework, with its  "string of pearls" idea, have recognised the decline of Princes St and took a proactive approach to keeping the street (and surroundings) attractive .

Their job's not made any easier since most of Princes Street's owned by private co's & pension funds, so the council's influence isn't all encompassing.

Over the past 50 or 60 years - there's been some horrendous proposals for Princes St & Edinburgh CC , which have rightly been knocked back. Although council bashing's easy (not directed at you btw) they do sometimes get  things right.

[Sharpie]

Losing all these old classy shops is sad, I can recall when if you wanted to get someone a nice gift you went to a Princes Street shop, and the gift was left in the bag or paper wrap to ensure that the recipient saw you had spared no expense in buying for them. 

 

Its the same here, many classy shops are leaving downtown areas because rents are too high, parking in main streets is impossible, historic stores like The Bay are moving out of malls, Sears are long gone, I or my wife would ask the grandchildren where they are going to shop for Christmas, and what time did they go to avoid the crowds, and we were looked at like we were space aliens as they explained they done it all on the phone or their PC.  

 

One of the major things about aging is the acceptance of what your life was is not what the younger generation want or expect. The only real satisfaction you can glean is that some day they will be feeling the same way you do now.

 

Edited January 30, 2021 by Sharpie

[Turkishcap]

On 25/01/2021 at 18:33, Norm said:

I'm throwing myself in to homeschooling with the kids, which kind of keeps me occupied. But with the kids off school and the wife a key worker, I need to either find a job that is also a key worker role or one that involves working evenings. 

 

However, when even the job centre guy is saying sorry for the lack of work, you know things are bleak. 

 

We saved up a bit of cash during the initial lockdown so we're not in an emergency situation yet but I reckon another 2, maybe 3 months tops before everything is gone and we're in the shit. 

May not be much help but I did temping on and off for a few years and did ok from it but worth a try, saying that as its 10 years since I lived in UK I dont know how bad things are just now even on that front.

[ArcticJambo]

8 hours ago, felix said:

👍.

I've an  interest in a couple of the big Princes St units and  have some faith in the council's planners who, since 2007 and their Development Framework, with its  "string of pearls" idea, have recognised the decline of Princes St and took a proactive approach to keeping the street (and surroundings) attractive .

Their job's not made any easier since most of Princes Street's owned by private co's & pension funds, so the council's influence isn't all encompassing.

Over the past 50 or 60 years - there's been some horrendous proposals for Princes St & Edinburgh CC , which have rightly been knocked back. Although council bashing's easy (not directed at you btw) they do sometimes get  things right.

Good to hear they do have a 'framework' of sorts in place, which I assume gets reviewed regularly. Actually had a wee wander along (Hannover St to Waterloo Place) late this afternoon and for 4pm on a Sat I have to say it was the quietest I've ever seen it at that time but for obvious reasons. It really is an absolute jewel that deserves proper considered attention. Hoping we see a bit more mixed use in the coming years, as long as you say, they do get thing s right in this respect, sometimes. 👍 😁

[felix]

15 minutes ago, ArcticJambo said:

Good to hear they do have a 'framework' of sorts in place, which I assume gets reviewed regularly. Actually had a wee wander along (Hannover St to Waterloo Place) late this afternoon and for 4pm on a Sat I have to say it was the quietest I've ever seen it at that time but for obvious reasons. It really is an absolute jewel that deserves proper considered attention. Hoping we see a bit more mixed use in the coming years, as long as you say, they do get thing s right in this respect, sometimes. 👍 😁

You'll definately be seeing some mixed use 👍 

Council's changed planning strategy of late. 10 years ago - Princes St - ground level, had to be retail. Not so now.

[ArcticJambo]

19 minutes ago, felix said:

You'll definately be seeing some mixed use 👍 

Council's changed planning strategy of late. 10 years ago - Princes St - ground level, had to be retail. Not so now.

Just need rid of this plague now, and we can all move forward positively. 👍

Edited January 30, 2021 by ArcticJambo

[theshed]

On 26/01/2021 at 15:24, Zico said:

In the 1980s maybe. Recently, it was Sports Direct in a nice building. 

 

Just like cruise clothing nowadays, sports direct in rundown shop 

[Craig_]

Don't subscribe to the idea that Princes Street is in decline. Yes, Jenners is gone, which is a sore one, but pretty soon it's going to be bookended by a world-class visitor attraction at one end, and a very smart-looking St James Centre at the other. As mentioned above, just need to look beyond retail. 

 

They've made decent inroads into sorting out the traffic too, used to just be a wall of buses at the east end. Still think more could be done, along with widening of pavements to allow cafes etc. 

[Samuel Camazzola]

24 minutes ago, Craig_ said:

Don't subscribe to the idea that Princes Street is in decline. Yes, Jenners is gone, which is a sore one, but pretty soon it's going to be bookended by a world-class visitor attraction at one end, and a very smart-looking St James Centre at the other. As mentioned above, just need to look beyond retail. 

 

They've made decent inroads into sorting out the traffic too, used to just be a wall of buses at the east end. Still think more could be done, along with widening of pavements to allow cafes etc. 

It's not really a sore one (from a customer POV). Jenners has been long gone - it's been a House of Fraser for several years with the Jenners signage on the listed building. 

 

I'm sure there's been plans for at least one of the hotel chains (Premier Inn) to take up residency on Princes Street but not sure where. 

[FWJ]

Bit of a bump but I found this on another site.  Plans passed by the council I believe.

 

https://www.thejennersbuilding.com/

 

I like the idea of a bar on the top floor turret overlooking St Andrew Sq.  A face-off with Forth Floor in HN’s …

Edited June 15, 2022 by FWJ

[Riccarton3]

Jenners Depository. Not anymore yet holds that identity. I want answers!

[hughesie27]

26 minutes ago, Riccarton3 said:

Jenners Depository. Not anymore yet holds that identity. I want answers!

I think the signage is now considered part of the building for listed purposes.

[Dusk_Till_Dawn]

City centres don’t seem to be able to carry much more than hotels, bars and restaurants 

[davemclaren]

43 minutes ago, Dusk_Till_Dawn said:

City centres don’t seem to be able to carry much more than hotels, bars and restaurants 

Indeed. We shop online or shopping malls it seems. 

[dobmisterdobster]

17 minutes ago, davemclaren said:

Indeed. We shop online or shopping malls it seems. 

 

Cities are overrated. Spending 3x as much to live in a shoe box in a noisy area? No thank you.

[EH11_2NL]

2 hours ago, jonesy said:

Jenners Suppository is round the back.

[Locky]

45 minutes ago, dobmisterdobster said:

 

Cities are overrated. Spending 3x as much to live in a shoe box in a noisy area? No thank you.

Can't beat city living.

[dobmisterdobster]

1 hour ago, Locky said:

Can't beat city living.

 

Been there done that. Not my cuppa tea.

Happily living in rural Yorkshire.

[frankblack]

32 minutes ago, dobmisterdobster said:

 

Been there done that. Not my cuppa tea.

Happily living in rural Yorkshire.

 

Good until shit weather hits - heavy snow, flooding etc.

[Locky]

45 minutes ago, dobmisterdobster said:

 

Been there done that. Not my cuppa tea.

Happily living in rural Yorkshire.

Tried the small town life before. Can't adapt at all. Found a happy medium in Musselburgh. Sadly don't live there anymore either.  

[trotter]

On 30/01/2021 at 03:52, felix said:

It's true - the council have actively tried to discourage city centre car use, in favour of public transport,  for many years now. I'd cautiously support them, since the alternative's far worse, however , in the context of the thread - I'd also say Jenners demise has little to do with  car usage, and everything to do with online retail. 

If Jenners was in Ocean Terminal or The Gyle, it'd still be going under imo; just like Debenhams .

Just read this and wanted to reply - the Council may not have actively discouraged the use of cars, but they haven't actively encouraged the use of public transport either. The whole tram debacle, blanket 20 mph speed limits forcing cars onto other streets and holding up buses, don't even get me started on the cycle lanes. Whatever 'framework' the council have used, they've made a right James of it imo.

[rudi must stay]

Too close to Janeers 

[Japan Jambo]

On 30/01/2021 at 09:52, felix said:

It's true - the council have actively tried to discourage city centre car use, in favour of public transport,  for many years now. I'd cautiously support them, since the alternative's far worse, however , in the context of the thread - I'd also say Jenners demise has little to do with  car usage, and everything to do with online retail. 

If Jenners was in Ocean Terminal or The Gyle, it'd still be going under imo; just like Debenhams .

 

It's interesting that here in London both Selfridges and Harrods both continue to thrive - I suspect it's a combination of unique products, extensive range, dining options and the all round day out package. I remember as a kid getting dragged out to Forsythes and Jenners and remember these being experiencial. Ripping that out and replacing it with a sports direct and a Frasers was never going to work.

[FWJ]

Photos from inside during the refurbishment.  Magnificent when it was in its prime.

Good, too, that the new building is to incorporate a memorial to Barry Martin the firefighter.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-68153251