Tag: shopping retail

Last minute Christmas gifts from Fort Kinnaird

Christmas is just round the corner and to help visitors pick up any last-minute gifts they need for the big day, Fort Kinnaird has rounded up a selection of ideas to help make the search easier.

From fashion gifts to jewellery, there is something for everyone in this collection, with some retailers even offering gift wrapping services so any purchases can go straight under the tree. 

And late-night shopping continues at Fort Kinnaird for the festive season, with visitors able to take advantage of shopping until 9pm at selected stores on Thursday 22nd and Friday 23rd.

Here’s a roundup of the best gifts you can pick up at Fort Kinnaird:

Fashion

Fort Kinnaird is home to an abundance of clothing stores, from M&S to Next and H&M to Primark.

Timeless cashmere jumpers, scarves, hats and gloves from Marks & Spencer and Next are always a welcome surprise on Christmas morning, and Clarks remains the place to visit for men’s footwear. While Ugg’s Classic Ultra Mini Boots are topping the most-wanted lists at schuh along with Veja’s sustainable trainers.

Visitors can discover new looks at Fat Face, or head to Mountain Warehouse and Trespass for weatherproof jackets, walking boots and backpacks ideal taking with you on a long winter walk.  

Jewellery

If you’re thinking of a more luxurious gift, Beaverbrooks and Swarovski are the places to look for gorgeous keepsakes and timeless classics, with their team being on hand to make sure you pick up the most perfect present. 

For a tailored gift, visitors can head to the newly opened Pandora for a bracelet filled with carefully chosen charms plus rings, pendants and lab-created diamonds. 

Beauty 

With most wish lists this year including fragrances by Chanel and Dior and make-up sets from No 17, Maybelline and Benefit, Boots, Superdrug and The Perfume Shop are the places to go. While the Philips Series 9000 Prestige Beard Trimmer, leather wash bags, and skincare gift sets can also be found in Boots and Superdrug and are this year’s grooming essentials. 

Holland & Barrett also have a range of special gift sets from CBD to self-care and sustainable heroes featuring calming tea bags, vegan snacks and naturally soothing beauty.

Gifts for children

With Smyths Toys, Hobbycraft and TK Maxx filled with great ideas for children’s presents, Christmas shopping for little ones is made easy at Fort Kinnaird. 

This year’s most wanted gifts include V-Tech designs, Gabby’s Purrfect Dollhouse, Jurassic World Real FX Baby Blue, Little Live Pets Mama Surprise, Sylvanian Families, Squishmallows, Funko dolls and a big soft Bluey. 

Or if you’re looking for gift ideas for new parent and babies, Mamas & Papas has everything you need from Jellycat toys to soft, comforting clothes, blankets and accessories.

Foodie gifts 

This season’s must-buy recipe and food writing books, including Jamie Oliver’s One, Stanley Tucci’s Taste and Nadiya’s Everyday Baking are all available at Waterstones.

Fort Kinnaird is also a great place to find other special gifts for foodie lovers including chocolate boxes and panettone from Marks & Spencer, barista-grade hot chocolate and Velvetiser from Hotel Chocolat and the latest kitchen gadgets from ProCook.   

Locally made gifts

Fort Kinnaird is home to independent stores including Born in Scotland which specialises in Scottish cards, gifts and crafts – perfect for Christmas. For sustainable and thoughtful gifts, The Leith Collective has beautiful clothes, homewares and gifts recycled, remade and repurposed by local crafts people.

Fort Kinnaird is open 9am – 9pm on weekdays and 9am – 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays. For more information about planning a trip to Fort Kinnaird, please visit www.fortkinnaird.com. 

Shop ’til you drop at St James Quarter with unmissable deals and live entertainment

The countdown to Black Friday is now on and as shoppers in Edinburgh prepare to seek out this year’s best deals, St James Quarter has revealed the unmissable discounts that will be on offer across its exciting selection of retailers. 

Available throughout Black Friday weekend (from 25th – 28th November) and beyond, St James Quarter will play host to the biggest and best offers from top retailers including up to 40% off the latest fashion items at Zara (selected lines on 25th November), up to 20% off the hottest makeup, skincare and fragrance at H Beauty (between 25th – 28th November) and 50% off Neom’s ‘Night in with Neom’ Box for those who want to indulge in a little self-care (until 30th November).

For more information about all of the latest Black Friday deals on offer at St James Quarter click here.  

Shoppers can also enjoy the Black Friday feeling with live entertainment between 2pm – 6pm on Friday and Saturday from The Quarter’s very own resident DJs, Fi and Mairi Buchanan, who will be filling the Galleria with sounds of the best-known Christmas classics. 

Guests can shop til they drop before taking a moment to refresh with The Quarter’s impressive dining and leisure destinations including Ka Pao, The Alchemist, Lane7, Everyman Cinema and Tortilla which are open until late. The Quarter also recently welcomed back lively Alpine Village, Bar Hütte, to St James Square where visitors can enjoy a festive drink and singsong in one of its Cosy Karaoke Hüttes until 2nd January.  

Nick Peel, Managing Director at St James Quarter, said: “Black Friday marks the beginning of the festive shopping season and following the opening of some really exciting retailers this year, we expect there to be a real buzz at St James Quarter this weekend as our guests seek out the best deals and take advantage of our hospitality offering. 

“November has already been a strong month for us in terms of footfall, but at a time when we know saving money is important to our guests, we’re looking forward to a busy but no doubt successful day of deal-hunting, with plenty more festive activity still to come before the end of 2022.” 

With so many great deals on offer, nobody wants to be restricted by how many bags they can carry, and St James Quarter has the perfect solution with its handsfree shopping service, Dropit, which allows shoppers to drop bags at Guest Services for later collection or, have them delivered straight to their door (for guests who live in Scotland). 

For those looking for a more relaxed approach to Black Friday, the St James Quarter website offers Crowd Checker, which provides shoppers with live capacity updates to help guests find quieter times to visit.

The Quarter also has a 1,600 space car park, which offers all day and overnight parking, allowing more convenience for shoppers travelling by car. 

During the festive period, selected retailers at St James Quarter will also be extending their opening hours on certain days. 

Miele celebrates opening of new ‘Experience Centre’ at St James Quarter

Miele store opening, St James Quarter, Edinburgh

Premium German appliance manufacturer, Miele has opened a new Experience Centre within the exciting new district of St James Quarter.  

This is the third Miele Experience Centre in the UK after London and Oxfordshire, and the 100th worldwide.  

The carnival inspired opening featured a spectacular floral installation over the entrance to the  new store created by Edinburgh-based Wild Flowers.  

Guests were treated to cookery demonstrations and ‘street food’ style treats and bites from the renowned and award-wining Scottish chef, Mark Heirs.  

An exclusive ‘Spin the Drum’ competition enabled 100 visitors to win one of 100 prizes including a washing machine, dishwasher, coffee machine and a vacuum cleaner as well as vouchers to use in store.   


Renowned and award-winning Scottish private chef, Mark Heirs giving cookery demonstrations and serving up ‘street food’ style treats and bites made using Miele Appliances

The purpose of the Experience Centre is to bring Miele products to life and to provide customers with the opportunity to fully interact with live appliances and experience new technology.  

Whether a customer is looking for a replacement washing machine or researching a full suite of appliances for their new dream kitchen, knowledgeable sales consultants and home economists can help guide them on the products that are right for them.


A customer taking a new Miele Cordless vacuum cleaner for a test drive

John Pickering, managing director for Miele GB says, “We have received an incredibly warm welcome to Edinburgh by local people who visited our new Miele Experience Centre.  

“Our mission is to create quality products that improve our customers’ lives, that are designed, built and tested to last – many for up to 20 years.  We are looking forward to helping customers from all over Scotland make informed decisions about buying new sustainable appliances and ensuring they get the absolute most out of them.” 


100 prizes were up for grabs in the online ‘Spin the Drum’ competition

The new Edinburgh Miele Experience Centre will be a destination of discovery, where a range of sustainable appliances will be on display including laundry, cooking, dishwashers and floorcare.  

Carefully curated interactive ‘Discovery Classes’ will also be introduced from September, to help customers to see and feel why Miele products are different.  

The classes will cover everything from key product features and benefits, quality of design and manufacture through to cooking and recipe demonstrations.


An expert Miele sales consultant explaining the features and benefits of a new Miele oven

The new Experience Centre will be managed by Ewan Laing who will be supported by a team of sales consultants and home economists.  The new store creates eight new jobs and is centrally located in the new St James Quarter, a vibrant new shopping and food destination in Edinburgh.  

 
Products on display in the Miele Experience Centre 

The new Miele Experience Centre can be found at 243 St James Crescent, EH1 3AD.  Doors open at 9am on 24 June 2021.

For more information about Miele visit miele.co.uk