New UK Brand Store coming soon ... and it's in the North West
Posted by bluemoose,Spotted by a couple of Brickseters and posted on the forums, LEGO are advertising for a Store Manager and Assistant Store Manager for a planned new store in Liverpool, England. The store will be in the Liverpool One shopping centre, and based on previous new store schedules, it's likely the store will be opening in September.
We're sure this news will be received with a huge cheer by many in the UK, but will spark the usual frustrations in those countries and areas currently poorly supported by LEGO ... however ... there's also four job adverts for 'Procurement Manager - Retail Facility' (one each in Enfield (US), Slough (UK), Munich (Germany) and Billund (Denmark)), which state that LEGO "have about 60 brand stores and expect to expand significantly", so there is likely to be more good news over the coming months.
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18 comments on this article
So far the closest to Cornwall, Devon and Somerset is in Cardiff. Maybe they can try to open a shop in Plymouth or Exeter and maybe a few more
why cant their be one in portsmouth or fareham because the nearist one for me is getting a train to brighton :(
Kind of good news - 1 hour drive away
Its a bit strange how the Lego stores in the UK are either in the middle of nowhere (Milton Keynes) or in coastal towns. What's wrong with places like Birmingham (2,284,093 people living in the conurbation), Greater Manchester (2,244,931) or Greater Glasgow (1,168,270) and all are more centrally located?
Yeah, I think with a Lego shop in Brighton, a Lego shop in Eastbourne is a bit of a long shot so I am not very hopeful for that.
I think the whole of the UK could be served by perhaps 10 or 11 stores quite well, which may seem like a lot, but unlike America, where most people live in or close to big cities, here in the UK the population is very spread out so it is probably more difficult to accommodate everyone's Lego buying needs! I would like to see Lego shops in:
Brighton
London
Portsmouth/Southampton
Plymouth/Exeter
Cardiff
Birmingham
Norwich
Manchester
Newcastle
Edinburgh
Belfast
(and ideally Eastbourne but perhaps a little unnecessary)
How about one a bit further east rather than west? Leeds would be a better location if you ask me...
^^I think the UK could sustain a few more than that. Maybe 20? All those plus ^Leeds, Glasgow, Sheffield to name a few more.
And ".... America, where most people live in or close to big cities..."? Have you seen pictures of the Mid-West?
This is incredible news!
I literally had a conversation with my folks last week about how few LEGO stores their are in the U.K, and how great it'd be to have one 'in town' (Liverpool). I can't believe the luck in finding out this news - i'm a Uni student and will be applying for a position a.s.a.p!
We used to have a LEGO Brand Store in Birmingham; it closed due to lower than expected sales. Choosing where to place a store is a complex problem - a store unit of the right size has got to be available, at the right sort of rent, in the right sort of location (typically a major high-end/'fashion mall'-like location in the UK); the local demographics have got to be right (for customers (lots of young families) & staff (many staff are part-time, students)); the stores have got to be far enough away from each other not to compete with each other (that's likely what killed the Kingston store, between Brighton & Bluewater); etc. ... it's a complex problem & LEGO know way more about it than any of us.
Oh, Milton Keynes is hardly in the 'middle of nowhere'; it's still one of the largest retail & entertainment destinations in the UK, & it has a good-sized, mostly young & affluent, family population, exactly what LEGO are looking for ...
^ good luck with the job application 'miniroll32'! Keep an eye on the LEGO job website.
Does anyone happen to know.... Do Lego store employees get a discount in store? That would be cool, and I would definitely apply for a job just for that reason alone.
For those saying they would like to see one in manchester, doesnt the one at the trafford centre count? At the legoland discovery centre?
@JabbatheTaff - It would not make financial sense to open many more than 10 in a relatively small country so I cannot see 20 being a realistic number of stores. When I commented on the US it was really a generalisation, it would be almost impossible to put a Lego store near to everyone in America, that was what I meant.
^Yeah, thinking about it. 20 is probably excessive.
^^^ http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/comment/835/Comment_835
@ CapnRex101 - you're right it would take A lot more LEGO stores in the U.S. to approach the coverage the UK already has even though there are only like what 5 of them in the whole region.
There are at least 9 stores in California alone and people in the north end of the state still have to drive an easy 3 hours. That gives an idea of just how much more spread out it is in the states.
@ Higgins - Wow thats dedication! As much as I admire the U.S, the one thing i've definitely found from people who travel here to the U.K and international students is that they love how compact the country is. Almost every part is accessible in some way; I can drive here from the North West (imagine thats half way up the U.K, and right on the West coast) and be down in Devon (South West) in little more than just 5 hours :)
@bd99 - They sell LEGO but they are not a LEGO store. Some prices are way more than TRU.
Add another one for California. This past weekend I went to my local mall, Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton, and noticed a Lego store under construction with an opening day of Fall 2011. I think this would be the third store in Northern California. Note, this same mall used to have a Lego store that closed about 5 or 6 years ago.
Next year, Nashville, TN's getting one, in Opry Mills.