Tag: Craigleith Retail Park

Bensons for Beds comes to Craigleith

Bensons for Beds is making big changes in Edinburgh as it opens two new stores in the city in the next 10 days. The sleep experts are opening a brand new store at Craigleith Retail Park and relocating its existing Straiton Retail Park store into a new unit.

Stores teams at both Craigleith and Straiton are getting set to help customers choose the right bed and find the right sleep solutions.

The first store to move will be at Straiton retail park when the bed and mattress retailer moves into Unit 5-6, Edinburgh, EH20 9PW from its old home on the park with the new unit opening today (Friday 25 August).

The new unit will feature more than 7,000 square feet of trading space and employ five   colleagues who’ll move across from the old store.

The second store is a brand new unit which will open in the capital at unit 7a&b, Craigleith Retail Park on Friday 1 September.

More compact, this new location will feature over 4,500 square feet of trading space and employ five new colleagues.

To celebrate the openings, Bensons will be rolling out its iconic purple carpet to welcome visitors who will be offered an additional 10 per cent off items bought over the opening weekends.

The new stores have been designed to showcase the wide range of beds and mattresses on offer at Bensons as it invests significantly to build a portfolio of brands that cater to every sleep need and the majority produced in-house at its own manufacturing centre in Cambridgeshire.

That portfolio includes Slumberland, which has been crafting a superior night’s sleep for over 100 years here in the UK.  Slumberland is the proud owner of Good Housekeeping Institute Awards for its Airstream Memory, Naturals and Eco Solutions mattresses.

Last year it also launched its new Simply by Bensons range to give consumers a great night’s sleep from only 15p per sleep[1]. The affordable, feel good quality range features mattresses, divans and bed frames – all with free five-year guarantees.

Bensons also recently launched a new and exclusive range of beds and mattresses under its heritage Staples & Co brand which has been re-inventing sleep since 1895.  The new ranges are designed to give customers a wide choice of comfort, storage and style features, with over 28,000 potential combinations.

The Staples & Co divan bases and Artisan Collection mattresses are handcrafted to order in the UK at Bensons’ dedicated British Kite Mark quality accredited factory in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.

Bensons is the exclusive home of iGel Advance, mattresses with a patented Graphene Technology, that helps customers regulate their body temperature to stay comfortable throughout the night.

As well as its exclusive in-house brands, last year Bensons also it unveiled its first collection of luxury mattresses from leading British maker Hypnos to broaden choice for customers.  Other brands available include Tempur and Silentnight, so that customers can choose the right bed for them to help them get a good night’s sleep.

Bensons’ regional manager, Peter Doyle for Edinburgh said: “We’re delighted to be expanding the Bensons portfolio. Both stores will be showing off the best of what Bensons for Beds has to offer to customers in and around Edinburgh

“The store teams will be dedicated to one thing – giving our customers everything they need to get the best night’s sleep.”

Telford trolley dump!

LOCAL MSP & COUNCILLOR TAKE SHOPS TO TASK OVER TROLLEY DUMPING

Edinburgh Central MSP, Angus Robertson, and Inverleith ward councillor, Vicky Nicolson, have demanded Craigleith shops take action to prevent trolley dumping in local green spaces.

Trolleys from a range of shops at Craigleith Retail Park are being lifted and dumped around the local area, chiefly Telford Park and its adjoining cycle paths.

The phenomenon of trolley dumping has increased in line with the retail park’s expansion. Local resident, Audrey Rollason, is so frustrated, she has taken to gathering trolleys in her own garden and liaising with her SNP councillor to have them picked up.

Another resident Andrea, and her 9-year-old son Dylan, have also spent significant amounts of time shifting trolleys from parks and gardens. Andrea branded the trolley dumping practice ‘a disgrace’.

Now, local MSP Angus Robertson and Councillor Vicky Nicolson have stepped in to demand retailers do their bit to end trolley dumping. 

Angus Robertson MSP commented: “It is totally unacceptable that Telford residents face the dumping of trolleys in local green spaces and in parks. Not only is it a disrespect to the local area, it is costing local residents and the Council time and money having to collect them.

“While it is not retailers’ fault that trollies are being lifted in the first place, it is time that they step up to help solve this issue. We know there are tried and tested ways of reducing trolly dumping.

“Other retail parks have developed various solutions, such as wheel-locking systems to stop initial removal or, in some cases, retailers actively collect the lifted trolleys from the local area. Councillor Nicolson and I have asked retailers to consider all options to help stop the trolley dumping.”

Councillor Vicky Nicolson said: “Trolly dumping is something I am acutely aware of in my ward. Indeed, on the regular community litter picks I arrange along with Drylaw Telford Community Council in the summer, we often find trolleys strewn about the place.

“It is deeply frustrating for residents, who should not have to waste their time solving this problem themselves. Local MSP Angus Robertson and I have written to the Craigleith retail park to ask them to take action to help prevent and tidy up dumped trolleys. We will continue to liaise with and represent the views of locals to tackle this issue.”

Resident Audrey Rollason said: “Trolley dumping has got worse and worse in the Telford area. I constantly find trolleys around the place, and often new ones appear in a period of hours. It is absolutely demoralising and makes our local area look run down and unwelcoming.

“I want the shops to do their bit to help – it shouldn’t be up to me and other local residents to gather their trolleys for them. I’m grateful to Councillor Nicolson and Angus Roberson MSP for helping us and I hope we can end trolley dumping once and for all.”

Police seek witnesses to Craigleith Retail Park incident

Police in Edinburgh are appealing for witnesses following an assault with intent to rob which occurred in the city on Monday (24 January, 2022).

Around 7pm, a 66-year-old man was in his car at Craigleith Retail Park when he was approached by a man who opened his car door and demanded money.

The man ran away from the retail park and no money was stolen.

The suspect is described as a white man with a local accent, approx. 5ft 8in tall, of slim build with short hair and he was wearing dark clothing.

Detective Sergeant Rory Legge, of Corstorphine CID, said: “This was a frightening experience for the victim who luckily did not sustain any injuries.

“Enquiries into the incident are ongoing.

“I am appealing to anyone who was in the area around the time of the incident who may have witnessed what happened, or any motorists who were in the area with dash cam footage, to please come forward.

“Anyone with information is asked to contact police via 101, quoting incident number 3143 of 24 January. Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

7000 jobs to go at M & S

Marks and Spencer announces 7000 job cuts over next three months:

We are today announcing important proposals to further streamline the business both at stores and management level.

As previously outlined Clothing & Home trading in the stores remains well below last year, with online and home delivery strong.  It is clear that there has been a material shift in trade and whilst it is too early to predict with precision where a new post Covid sales mix will settle, we must act now to reflect this change.

We have also learnt that we can work more flexibly and productively with more colleagues multi-tasking and transitioning between Food and Clothing & Home. The deployment of our leading store technology package developed in partnership with Microsoft has also enabled us to reduce layers of management and overheads in the support office.

As a result we are today embarking on a multi-level consultation programme which we anticipate will result in a reduction of c. 7,000 roles over the next 3 months. These will include departures in our central support centre, in regional management, and in our UK stores, reflecting the fact that the change has been felt throughout the business.

We expect a significant proportion will be through voluntary departures and early retirement. In line with our longstanding value of treating our people well, we will now begin an extensive programme of communication with colleagues.   

Concurrently we expect to create a number of new jobs as we invest in online fulfilment and the new ambient food warehouse and reshape our store portfolio over the course of the year. 

The cost of the programme including redundancies will be reflected in a significant adjusting item to be included in the group’s half-year results.  The streamlining programme is an important step in delivering on our cost savings programme and ensuring we emerge from the crisis with a lower cost base and a stronger more resilient business. 

Chief Executive Steve Rowe commented: “In May we outlined our plans to learn from the crisis, accelerate our transformation and deliver a stronger, more agile business in a world in which some customer habits were changed forever.

“Three months on and our Never the Same Again programme is progressing; albeit the outlook is uncertain and we remain cautious. As part of our Never The Same Again programme to embed the positive changes in ways of working through the crisis, we are today announcing proposals to further streamline store operations and management structures.

“These proposals are an important step in becoming a leaner, faster business set up to serve changing customer needs and we are committed to supporting colleagues through this time.”

Group revenue: constant currency

% change to LY19 weeks to 8 August 201
13 weeks to 8  August 201
8 weeks to 8 August 201
Clothing & Home -49.5-38.5-29.9
Food-1.12.52.5
International-31.9-24.6-19.9
Group-19.2-13.2-10.0
Clothing & Home.com32.042.239.2
 M&S.com38.946.940.7

webuyanycar.com celebrates 5000 customers in Craigleith

The nation’s favourite car buying service, webuyanycar.com, is celebrating a milestone at its branch pod in Craigleith. The branch, situated on Craigleith Retail Park, this month acquired its 5,000th car, making it one of the company’s top performing sites. Continue reading webuyanycar.com celebrates 5000 customers in Craigleith

Our bus is coming back!

Victory for community councils bus campaign

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Local residents will be able to get a 42 bus to Craigleith Retail Park again from October. Lothian Buses have agreed to reinstate the service and support the alteration to the 42 route following a joint appeal by local community councils.

Drylaw Telford Community Council chairman Alex Dale, who coordinated the campaign, said local residents will be delighted to hear the news. “The 42 service into the Retail Park has been missed and I’m often being asked: ‘when are we getting our bus back?’ It’s taken a while but it’s great to be able to tell people that the service is to be reinstated from the beginning of October. It’s good news and I hope local people will take the opportunity to use the service.”

Drylaw Telford CC joined forces with Stockbridge Inverleith, Blackhall Craigleith and Muirhouse Salvesen community councils to petition for the return of the service back in March, and Alex received confirmation from Lothian Buses earlier this week that the 42 will return to the local Retail Park this autumn.

The service was withdrawn because traffic problems around the shopping centre caused delays and disruption to the timetable, but it’s hoped that improvements to traffic signalling will reduce excessive delays.

A spokesperson for Lothian Buses confirmed that the 42 bus service will return to Craigleith Shopping Centre from 4 October on Monday – Fridays as a trial.