New LEGO store opening in Bristol, UK

Nice! I visit relatives in Bristol every now and then so this will be a fun trip for next time - hopefully they manage to keep some distancing guidelines unlike what happened at the opening of the Genova lego store in Italy...

Good for Bristol (and people within reach of it)! I am still a long way away from any of the stores.

Pleased as I am to see another nearby store opening, if it's opening before Christmas this year, perhaps their standard PR comment of "Grab a cup and fill it up with your choice of LEGO bricks" might be a bit optimistic! Anyone taking bets!?

finally.... I went to the Cardiff one yesterday. it had been the nearest

I knew there would a be a LEGO Store eventually in Bristol, its one of the UK's most popular cities but the question i always had was where, Cribbs or Cabot and low behold its Cabot.

Used to live in Somerset for a while and always wished for a store nearby instead of Cardiff's, now I live near Birmingham which is fortunate as it has probably the best LEGO Store in the UK outside of London.

Is there a way to see a list of upcoming/planned Lego store locations? I just moved and am eagerly waiting with my fingers crossed for one to open nearby

Happy for my friends across the pond who will use this store!!

Great news! Will be my closest, though still two hours away. Would love a store in Exeter or Plymouth at some point.

Awesome and excellent I say, it might be worth queuing for the big releases and promo gifts for instore only. Shame not at the Mall with free parking etc.
We rarely visit town centre or the mall and even before lockdown to.
Also a Smyths toy store is opening just up the rode from me in Bristol in October!

Self restraint is gonna be a little harder now that there is a store so much closer to me than before. Living in the Bristol area it was easy to justify not going regularly to Cardiff, gonna be much harder with it being on my doorstep. It’s a shame that it’s in Cabot rather than at Cribbs (The Mall). While busses are not an issue to get there if you live in the city and it’s too far to walk/don’t want to walk back with large sets, those outside the centre it’s far easier to travel to Cribbs (and free parking)
Anyway pleased that there is a new store coming to the northern end of the south west

Yay!

It won’t be my closest store, as I’m nearer to Brighton and Southampton, but Bristol is a city I visit regularly, so another thing to do while I’m there!

(Sorry to all those who don’t have stores in their county)

@vzarmo said:
" @Jacopyright said:
"Great! For the UK. Still not a single LEGO Store in Norway..."

We have a same situation in Switzerland. I just don’t understand why we don’t have official LEGO Store. Ordering from the internet it’s not that fun imho. "

Switzerland is one of my favorite countries to visit, so beautiful and peaceful, some cities are screaming for a Lego store, the concept totally fits there... I guess one of the reasons might be the proximity to other countries with already established stores/parks and perhaps the salaries paid in Switzerland in comparison with those... I don't know. But 17 already in the UK? Is that the biggest market for Lego in "Europe"?

After the Bristol board, the Bristol Lego Shop.... !

I would really like one in the East/West Midlands i.e. Leicester, Derby and Nottingham. I’m in Derby and our closest is Birmingham. Being a TFOL, I can’t exactly go down to Birmingham for a day trip...

Talking of Pick A Brick Walls: what's their current status? Sealed off? Anyone been to a LEGO shop lately?

@jlskywalker said:
"Switzerland is one of my favorite countries to visit, so beautiful and peaceful, some cities are screaming for a Lego store, the concept totally fits there... [snip] But 17 already in the UK? Is that the biggest market for Lego in "Europe"? "
Thank you for the kind words, and I agree - been screaming for one for a while with no luck. Ever since they closed up the factory and offices they had here during their 2000s-crisis we‘ve become somewhat country non grata...

And as far as I know, the biggest (EU) Lego market by far is still Germany. They also usually get the best € prices for Lego product.

The Yogscast and LEGO in one city? Better pack my bags!... oh wait...

@ambr said:
"There is also not a store in the whole of Ireland with a population of 5 million, or Northern Ireland (2 million) and not really practical to have a day trip to England. There are lots of on-line petitions to open one in either Dublin (1.5 million) or Belfast (0.6 million) so hopefully TLG will listen. Strangely there is also no store in Edinburgh either even though millions of tourists visit each year."

Edinburgh store opening seems like is postponed to the next year. It is planned in the new St James Centre.

I also heard that a LEGO Store is coming to Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, Maryland!

http://robertdyer.blogspot.com/2020/03/lego-coming-soon-signage-luggage-store.html

Whilst we're talking about Bristol, Bristolians might like to note there is a LUG in the area called GertLUG. Go to www.gertlug.co.uk for details.

It'd be great to have another Store in Belgium, e.g. in Brussels or in Wallonia, especially for the PAB wall, because the Benelux RRPs are just too high…

@ambr said:
"There is also not a store in the whole of Ireland with a population of 5 million, or Northern Ireland (2 million) and not really practical to have a day trip to England. There are lots of on-line petitions to open one in either Dublin (1.5 million) or Belfast (0.6 million) so hopefully TLG will listen. Strangely there is also no store in Edinburgh either even though millions of tourists visit each year."

Edinburgh has always been a bit rubbish for shopping. Glasgow has one!

I mean, the real take home here is that because you'd have to fly all the way to Scotland just to go to the store, you're practically *obliged* to buy every single set you could possibly want ;)

Edit: aw man. There's one coming to the St James centre? I live there for years and they only put one in when I leave ??

I can’t wait for this to open. I’ve been crying out for a store closer to me and this is gonna save me half an hour each way. No more going over the Severn Bridge to Cardiff!
Day one I’m there ????

Oh, nice! That's actually near me... or near-ish, at least. Not that I'd make the trip into Bristol just for a Lego store, I don't really like the city so much; but if I am visiting at any time for other reasons, I'll be sure to stop by and check it out :D

Remind me, do Lego stores have, like, special promotions on their opening day? Just curious, is all; I've never been so near to where one's going to be opening before ^^

@vzarmo said:
" @Jacopyright said:
"Great! For the UK. Still not a single LEGO Store in Norway..."

We have a same situation in Switzerland. I just don’t understand why we don’t have official LEGO Store. Ordering from the internet it’s not that fun imho. "

Or Ireland, cmon TLG, give us a Dublin store!

Start queueing now for those opening day exclusive minifigs.

@bananaworld said:
"
Talking of Pick A Brick Walls: what's their current status? Sealed off? Anyone been to a LEGO shop lately?"

I went to the Leeds shop recently. The pieces available were stuck to a board. You told the employee which you wanted and they scoop the container full. Not as fun but better than nothing I guess

Norwich next please 8o)
Don’t forget East Anglia.

@Rednaxela said:
"Norwich next please 8o)
Don’t forget East Anglia. "

:-( you've got already A LOT OF Lego stores, there are many other countries that have no Lego stores AT ALL!

Idaho, USA.

@voyman said:
"And as far as I know, the biggest (EU) Lego market by far is still Germany."

That is my understanding as well. Within Europe, Germany is the largest market in absolute terms, but on a per capita basis, it’s the UK. Worldwide, the fastest growing market is China which has seen several new stores in the last few years.

I should count myself lucky that there are three LEGO stores within an hour of me. Oddly, I don’t go to them that often. It’s easier to satisfy by LEGO addiction through nearer retailers (WHS, JL, Argos) and online (including LEGO S @H ).

I think the UK needs 20 LEGO Stores overall.

These three need to focus a bit more on the northern and eastern part of the UK.

My three suggestions

Intu Chapelfield in Norwich
St James in Edinburgh
Highcross in Leicester, also owned by Hammersmith who own Cabot Circus

While it’s nice for people in Bristol I’m a bit disappointed there still isn’t and Lego stores in Ireland

Still waiting for a Nottingham store...

@SuperMatt said:
" @bananaworld said:
"
Talking of Pick A Brick Walls: what's their current status? Sealed off? Anyone been to a LEGO shop lately?"

I went to the Leeds shop recently. The pieces available were stuck to a board. You told the employee which you wanted and they scoop the container full. Not as fun but better than nothing I guess
"

Thanks for letting us know SuperMatt, I was hoping someone would reply to BananaWorld's question.

I'm a big fan of the brick walls, and there are often more pieces available to fill up your cup than there are containers available, so one of the staff will always get you the board of bits to show you everything available. In my experience the staff are happy to take your order in detail, like "5 of those, 20 of those etc.". It's such good value for small parts. Some stores have two or three different parts in each of the bins, which I love. The bigger the selection the better in my view.

The M4 just got waaaay cooler. I live in Wales beyond the western end of the M4, now when I visit relatives in East London I'll be able to hit 3 Lego stores in a day without hardly making any diversions :D

(even more than 3 if I sneak off in the evening to visit some of the outer London stores too)

@voyman said:
" @jlskywalker said:
"Switzerland is one of my favorite countries to visit, so beautiful and peaceful, some cities are screaming for a Lego store, the concept totally fits there... [snip] But 17 already in the UK? Is that the biggest market for Lego in "Europe"? "
Thank you for the kind words, and I agree - been screaming for one for a while with no luck. Ever since they closed up the factory and offices they had here during their 2000s-crisis we‘ve become somewhat country non grata...

And as far as I know, the biggest (EU) Lego market by far is still Germany. They also usually get the best € prices for Lego product.
"

I have always asked myself why there is no Lego Store in Switzerland. The toy shops here are always emptying. With the salaries so high, there is a lot of disposable income so it makes sense. Having said that, I do not know which city they would put it in. I live in Lausanne so here would be great (lots of tourists) but likely it would go in Geneva or Zurich. Problem with Geneva is that the Lyon store in France is not so far from there (Ok, Ok, still a bit of a drive but it would work against Geneva). So, possible Zurich. The other thing is that the population is small here (same as London) but spread out over a larger area so would they get the foot-fall.....? May be its good that there is no Lego store, since I would be in there all of the time - I really miss the PAB wall, so when I go back to the UK, I fill up my suitcase with PAB!!!

my closest is in Freehold (NJ/US) about 45 min. away; i should make the trip and see how it is. and not bring too much money either . . . .

For those in Australia, a new store is set to open in Charlestown, NSW (which should be good for all the people in Newcastle and the Central Coast area). Same mob that run Bondi Junction and Broadway (as well as Robina, Chermside and Doncaster)

Personally I think other states (ACT, SA, WA) should get stores, there is definitely the market in terms of LEGO fans and purchasers to make it work...

OMG! OMG! OMG! I'm moving to Bristol in a few months time. Everything is awesome!!!!!

Dagnabbit!! I've just left Bristol for the best country in the world, though the Auckland certified store is rubbish :(

I think Barcelona should get a LEGO store. :-)

THIS IS AWESOME!! My six year old and I are Bristol residents and MASSIVE Lego fans and this news has made our year! HOORAY!

Strange no one has mentioned that Italy has 17 stores making it the next most popular country after the UK in Europe. The USA has over 90 stores, but mainly in NY, CA, FL and TX with the other states only having 1 to 3 stores.

Happy for people nearby, but can't help but wonder why Ireland still has 0 LEGO stores

@Minifig290 said:
"I think the UK needs 20 LEGO Stores overall.

These three need to focus a bit more on the northern and eastern part of the UK.

My three suggestions

Intu Chapelfield in Norwich
St James in Edinburgh
Highcross in Leicester, also owned by Hammersmith who own Cabot Circus"

Yes to the first of these - I would be in there every day!!

@SuperMatt said:
"I went to the Leeds shop recently. The pieces available were stuck to a board. You told the employee which you wanted and they scoop the container full. Not as fun but better than nothing I guess"
Thanks for the information!

As you say, it's better than nothing, though filling PAB cups is the highlight of a trip to a LEGO shop for me; I hope there's a way it can go back to normal in the future.

Great that Bristol is getting a store. I used to work in Cardiff occasionally and would always pop in and buy something (Hamleys near by got a visit too!), but having one just over 13 miles from me in Clevedon is much better than the 15 miles to Cardiff, as that has the Severn in the way and you have to drive 45 miles to get there! I will be there as soon as it's open - and I know a few others who will be too.

@Corban2011 said:
"Ooh awesome! Thought, I really wish LEGO would build more official LEGO stores in Japan. There’s only like 1 or 2 in the entire country. ?? "

I think all the Japanese ones are certified stores though, rather than proper LEGO stores. I have been to three and they were all ClickBricks.

Let's get some in australia x

I live in Cornwall and at the moment Cardiff is the closest Lego store to me - 3.5 hours away!! Bristol is a bit better at 3 hours away but it isn't that far from Cardiff really! Plymouth or Exeter would have been much better positioned to serve the South West region - they are still not in Cornwall but only 1.5 hours away - which I would have been very excited about!