Queues from early hours as Uniqlo opens in Edinburgh

Hundreds of shoppers queued along Princes Street in Edinburgh as a much-anticipated fashion brand opened its first Scottish store.

Japanese fashion house Uniqlo arrived in the capital, attracting fans from the early hours, desperate to be the first in the store.

Some had been in the queue since 04:00 for the 09:00 opening.

The line built up along the famous street, all the way to Hanover Street.

The new store is located in the former British Home Stores unit – a purpose-built retail store, designed by Johnson-Marshall and Partners in 1965.

With its first Scottish location, Uniqlo promised to “regenerate the capital’s shopping scene”.

The store totals approximately 1,400 sq metres across two floors, catering for men, women, children and babies.

“With our presence in Edinburgh, we aim to become an integral part of the local community,” said Alessandro Dudech, chief operating officer.

The city’s Lord Provost, Robert Aldridge said the event proved that “Edinburgh is a city that is truly open for business”.

He said: “I’m sure Uniqlo will make their mark here and I wish them every success.”

Similar queues had not been seen on Princes Street since June 2020, when non-essential shops reopened after the first wave of the Covid pandemic.

Edinburgh charity worker Lauren Gilmour passed the line on her way to work. Posting a video, she said: “Think Uniqlo opening in Edinburgh is the most exciting thing that’s happened since the Newhaven extension.”

She later told BBC Scotland News: “I’ve been actually quite looking forward to seeing it open as we’ve not had one in Scotland before.

“I’d have queued up but I was on my way to work at the time. I was surprised at how many people had queued, so hopefully that’s a really good sign for a retail resurgence on Princes Street going forward.

“I’m going in after work to pick up a few bits.”

The brand is known for its in-store experiences, including a Japanese tearoom.

The Edinburgh site is the only one outside London’s Covent Garden to be given a cafe.

The shop also has a studio where customers can recycle, repair or remake their favourite items .

Uniqlo said it had also joined up with local charity Social Bite and would be working on recruitment pathways by creating in-store job opportunities for those the charity supports.