New LEGO Store opening in Battersea, UK

Always nice to have another LEGO Store. I remember years ago seeing concept art for the area, and there being a LEGO store in that art that I thought was forgotten about, so glad it came to be in the end.

J/K radioactive Lego

@Toymaker said:
"Watford"

I wish it was. R.I.P my only local store :(

I'm not sure if having a Lego store near me would be a blessing or a curse, so maybe it's just as well that the nearest is at least a couple of hours drive away.

Somewhere in eastern Iowa would be nice, if highly unlikely.

I really could do with one in Norwich, London by train or Milton Keynes by car are not near enough for me.

I always wondered what the inspiration was for the Command and Conquer: Red Alert power stations.

And now I know.

@DB_Bricks said:
"As mentioned already, there are fairly sizeable gaps still in the UK with no store at all, so it would be nice to get some of those filled. I reckon;

- Plymouth or Exeter
- Oxford
- Leicester or Nottingham
- Peterborough or Cambridge
- Ipswich or Norwich
- Aberdeen
- Belfast

That said, south London is definitely short of a store, especially further west (Bluewater I think probably caters for SE London quite nicely), so no objections to this news at all!
"

All valid suggestions! Let's hope that someone from TLG is reading these comments!

London!!! Again!
please pick somewhere else. I live in the NW and my closet store is in Manchester over an hour by train, whats wrong with Chester?

@starwarsfan14 said:
"London!!! Again!
please pick somewhere else. I live in the NW and my closet store is in Manchester over an hour by train, whats wrong with Chester?"
If you live in/near Chester, wouldn't the Liverpool store be more convenient than the one in Manchester?

Imagine seeing employees as a feature of a store…

Richmond

Weird only 4 miles along a main A road from Westfield store in West London near Hammersmith, which might of being the first central London Lego store 15 years ago when they built the shopping center. Used to visit a lot as never had any queues unlike Leicester Square, mainly as very few tourists go there as pic 'n mix is the only interactive feature.

@Brodie said:
"I really hope TLG fly a giant Lego Pig balloon over Battersea Power Station in homage to Pink Floyd's 1977 album Animals. IYKYK."

They should do little brick-built pigs with brick-built balloons attached.

I live South of the River. Will this be better for me to go to than Leicester Square or Westfield (Shepherd's Bush)? Probably not. This new Battersea shopping place is apparently very very very expensive designer shops. So not much else for me to go to. I will probably stick to Westfield.

I'd very much like to see a proper Architecture set of Battersea Power Station, like the older Frank Lloyd Wright ones. I'd buy it even if it didn't feature the floating pig...

And if there isn't a limited edition build of the Power Station complete with pig then I will be very very very disappointed.

Me with my local LEGO Store and local Legoland both just 40 minutes away :)

If there is anything to do with pigs at this store I shall be very disappointed.

An iconic brick building as a lego store? It makes sense.

But I am surprised they did not choose Croydon or Kingston for a south London store? Maybe those are planned for the future?

Other places that might make sense:

Nottingham, Loughborough, Derby or Leicester
Would have over two million potential customers within 30 minutes of the store.
Loughborough is central but maybe locally too small and too much travel for most customers?
Nottingham Broadmarsh near the Rail, Tram and Bus stations is an obvious choice.

Plymouth would provide geographical coverage, but might be a bit quiet?
Exeter customers then having the choice of Bristol or Plymouth, might prefer to go to Bristol?

Cambridge would have the customer base and could cover East Anglia?
Norwich might be a better choice geographically but does it have the transport links?
Ipswich -Norwich or King's Lynn - Norwich?

Peterborough could also work with a large potential customer base and as a connected city?

Oxford would also make sense, having a similar customer base to Cambridge and could cover the gap between London, Bristol, Birmingham and Milton Keynes.

Bridlington or Scarborough might be a geographical fill, but could enough customers get there ?
Equally Hull might be a good fit geographically but can enough customers get there within 30 minutes?

Aberdeen would be better for locals, but could enough customers go there from Inverness, Dundee and the Highlands?

I shall probably make the effort to visit on opening day, just as I did last year with Leicester Square, but can't imagine they will have exclusive GWPs as the flagship store did. Always interesting to see a new store though.

@CCC said:
"Any city without one is a bit of a gap in the sense that many people don't travel that far to shop, at least regularly. I can get to Leeds in about 40 minutes by train (at a cost of about £15). I go maybe once or twice a year. And that is because I want to do something in Leeds, not just go to the LEGO store. The last time I went with the kids we bought a BAM pack of minifigures and that is it. We didn't really spend much time in there either, there wasn't really much to see that was different to any other toy store. LEGO stores are nothing special any more. They are just stores that sell LEGO. When I can get most of the same stuff delivered without the expense (time and money) of getting to the store, I'm not going to make a special trip. If it wasn't for BAM and PAB, I doubt we'd even look in the store when passing. If there was one on my doorstep, I might look in occasionally to see if there were new parts. Although probably wouldn't buy much in terms of sets and have to carry it home.

Leicester Sq is special in the sense that it is something to see as well as a store.
"

I think in the UK we are perhaps less inclined to travel a long way to get to a particular shop because most of us do live fairly near to reasonably sized towns and cities.

I live about 20 minutes travel from Leeds total and I can do it by driving about 10 minutes and then getting the park and ride for £2 at the weekend, which is reasonably low hassle, but I wouldn't just pop in for a trip just to the LEGO store unless there was an amazing offer on. Also you either have to be willing to brave the crowds or go early on Saturday to avoid them.

I assume that the other London stores are busy enough that it makes sense to have another.

Seriously? Another London store? There are plenty of other places would benefit from a store. Boo, LEGO BOO! For shame.

Norwich would be nice, but I would think Peterborough could be good as the main shopping centre is close to Peterborough station which is a main line station with lots of connections

@bookmum said:
"I live South of the River. Will this be better for me to go to than Leicester Square or Westfield (Shepherd's Bush)? Probably not. This new Battersea shopping place is apparently very very very expensive designer shops. So not much else for me to go to. I will probably stick to Westfield."
Woohoo! Store no. 4 within an hour of me! I’m also south of the river. The new store or the one at Shepherd’s Bush will be the most convenient.

That said, the problem with living in the southeast is that most folk - myself included - have to spend so much on property that they neither have the money nor the space for LEGO.

@Venunder said:
"An iconic brick building as a lego store? It makes sense.

But I am surprised they did not choose Croydon or Kingston for a south London store? Maybe those are planned for the future? "
LEGO’s press release says it’s the first London store south of the river. That may be true technically, but there used to be a store in Kingston which is both in London and south of the river. Sadly, it closed in the summer of 2006. I’m not sure if it was owned by LEGO or merely operated under licence which may be why it isn’t being counted by LEGO in its press release - but that would be splitting hairs.

Every time I see this power station I think Advanced Power Plant from Red Alert 1

We need one near the LakeDistrict D: mines 2 and a half hours away

@sjr60 said:
"Excellent. I hope this prompts a Battersea Power Station Architecture set!"

With a floating pig

@starwarsfan14 said:
"London!!! Again!
please pick somewhere else. I live in the NW and my closet store is in Manchester over an hour by train, whats wrong with Chester?"

Most people that live near London don't actually live in London, I still need to get a bus, train, then tube and a walk which is way more than an hour :-)

@R1_Drift said:
"Richmond"

Richmond, London?

@Zander said:
LEGO’s press release says it’s the first London store south of the river. That may be true technically, but there used to be a store in Kingston which is both in London and south of the river. Sadly, it closed in the summer of 2006. I’m not sure if it was owned by LEGO or merely operated under licence which may be why it isn’t being counted by LEGO in its press release - but that would be splitting hairs.

Arguably the Kingston store was east of the river.

Great to see another LEGO store but there are six cities which would benefit the most from a new LEGO Brand Store

Exeter - to serve a massive part of the most southern part of England, especially Devon, Dorset, Cornwall and south Somerset.

Norwich - to serve a big part of the East of England, particularly Norfolk

Peterborough - to serve the massive gap between Norwich and the Milton Keynes store

Nottingham - again to serve a massive gap, this time between the Birmingham and Sheffield stores

If not Peterborough or Nottingham, then Leicester seems another good place especially with the Highcross shopping centre suiting LEGO Store's usual setting for stores (busy shopping centres with large numbers of luxury brands)

York - massive tourist City but also would cover Yorkshire for a LEGO Store

Aberdeen - to serve a massive population north of the two current Scottish stores, also a store in Inverness would be great though does seem unlikely.

Also a store for Belfast to serve Northern Ireland, so both of the Ireland capitals have a LEGO Store.

Australia needs more Lego stores!

@sjr60 said:
" @night13flyer said:
"J/K radioactive Lego"
No radioactivity... might be sooty Lego though!"
"Sooty Lego"... now there's an IP that Lego hasn't explored yet.

Would it come with Sweep and Sue?

Also... strictly speaking, I think Brighton was the first store south of the River!

@Buoerny said:
"Arguably the Kingston store was east of the river."
Geographically, that’s true. But it’s also true that it’s south of the river: if you travelled due north
from Kingston, you’d eventually wind up at the Thames somewhere around Kew. However, no one talks about east or west of the river. The division is always between north and south of the river, and in that sense, Kingston is considered south.

It's 6 stops on the tube away from the Leicester Square store. And yes it's South of the river - pretty much within throwing distance of it! I suspect they got a decent deal to incentivise them moving in with the hope that it'll attract other big retailers too.

I remember the old Kingston store!

@jhs8swd, Will the new store and the one at Leicester Square be the two closest LEGO stores in the world (excluding stores in or near Legolands and at airport terminals)?

More Canadian stores needed

@froggy49950 said:
" @sjr60 said:
"Excellent. I hope this prompts a Battersea Power Station Architecture set!"

With a floating pig"

You know that I care
What happens to you
And I know that you care
For me too

So, I don't feel alone on the weight of the stone
Now that I've found somewhere safe to bury my bone
And any fool knows a dog needs a home
A shelter from pigs on the wing

@sjr60 said:
" @night13flyer said:
"J/K radioactive Lego"
No radioactivity... might be sooty Lego though!"

Sooty Lego? Sweep it away!!!

The Battersea Power Station looks amazing and it's very exciting to see a store open there.

Guess it makes sense to go where the money is. But definitely hoping they don’t do an architecture set inspired by this power station - as iconic as it is, I’d rather have a Tate Modern set with the new extension.

Not to make anyone terribly jealous, but the Washington, DC, Metro Area, which is smaller than London, has 4 LEGO stores (or 6 if you include 2 more in Maryland) and a LEGO Discovery Center coming soon. (However, none of those stores are actually inside the District of Columbia--here's to hoping we'll eventually get a flagship urban store)

@LegoBoi69 said:
"Lets put another Lego store right next to where we have one already... rolleyes

My closest Lego store is 70 miles away ffs :( "

When I lived in Cornwall every decent store was 70 miles away, whether they sold Lego or not

And yet, the PNW of the USA has none. Well, one way far in WA state....

@mdtvandy said:
"Not to make anyone terribly jealous, but the Washington, DC, Metro Area, which is smaller than London, has 4 LEGO stores (or 6 if you include 2 more in Maryland) and a LEGO Discovery Center coming soon. (However, none of those stores are actually inside the District of Columbia--here's to hoping we'll eventually get a flagship urban store)"
According to Google, the DC metropolitan area is 5565 sq miles. Metropolitan London is 3236 sq miles. So London is smaller. With the new store at Battersea Power Station, the distance between the two closest will be just over 2 miles (see Capn's post above) vs 8.5 miles between the nearest two in the DC area: Westfield Montgomery to Tysons Corner (Google Maps). So yes, lots of stores in the DC area - maybe the most in the world in one conurbation - but it looks like London will have the highest density.

The building next door to me is for sale, there's space for a small store there.

We really miss the Watford Store.

@daniellesa said:
"I really could do with one in Norwich, London by train or Milton Keynes by car are not near enough for me."

Norwich is the capital of East Anglia so makes perfect sense! Possibly not to my partner though...

Architecturally speaking this building is siiiiick!!!

Norwich definitely needs a Lego Store! And I would have gone with Croydon or Crawley as a site for a Lego store! Luckily my nearest one is 6 miles away in Brighton but after that nearest are Bluewater or Southampton which are both a trek!

@danieltheo said:
" @daniellesa said:
"I really could do with one in Norwich, London by train or Milton Keynes by car are not near enough for me."

Norwich is the capital of East Anglia so makes perfect sense! Possibly not to my partner though..."

Capital? Have Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire declared UDI and annexed most of Essex? Must have missed that. ;o)

Dunwich was the closest thing that the Kingdom of East Anglia had to a capital, over 1,100 years ago. Well, until the arrival of the Great Heathen Army at least.

But I digress. I look forward to the Battersea Power Station Architecture set. And yes it better come with a tiny pig in the box.

@sjr60 said:
" @night13flyer said:
"J/K radioactive Lego"
No radioactivity... might be sooty Lego though!"

Coal-fired power generation emits significantly more radioactivity into the open environment than nuclear power generation per kilowatt hour. Uranium mostly, but also thorium.

Interesting facts: approximately 97% of nuclear fuel can be recycled and reused safely. All of the spent fuel created in the entire history of nuclear power could be placed in a box with a side of 30 metres. And it is of course solid, not a glowing green liquid that leaks out of cannisters (The Simpsons and opponents of nuclear power have a lot to answer for).

@CCC said:
"I'm surprised another one is needed in London.

Is the Battersea Power Station going to be a tourist destination type retail mall? If so I guess it makes sense to have a presence there.
"

Very much so. Having been myself I would guess most people visit to see, not to buy - apart from a coffee or a meal. Most shops are very high end, selling expensive watches, clothes, cars, &c. So an ideal place for a high quality brand like Lego to set up store and encourage those people to get their cards and cash out for a discretionary spend at a lower rate than required for a Swiss timepiece, a French handbag, or a Chinese EPV.

Having said all that, it is a very impressive space and there are some tourist-friendly attractions such as a lift to the top of one of the rebuilt chimneys (see chimney on the right in the photo at the top of this page) and a boutique cinema.

I have to agree with others here in the comments, that London doesn't need another LEGO store.
Cornwall need one, as do the Midlands (Birmingham is great and all, but my point is that Sheffield + Leeds are close by, Manchester & Liverpool are close by).
Whereas Birmingham to Bristol, or Milton Keynes is a bit of a distance away.
I'll still be visiting the Battersea store for the LEGO Stamp in the passport book, but won't be buying any sets from there, as I can get them from the other 3 (technically 4 if you count Bluewater on the edge of London)).

@AdamSenna said:
" @sjr60 said:
" @night13flyer said:
"J/K radioactive Lego"
No radioactivity... might be sooty Lego though!"

Coal-fired power generation emits significantly more radioactivity into the open environment than nuclear power generation per kilowatt hour."
The press release for an upcoming Pripyat Lego Store!

@sjr60 said:
" @AdamSenna said:
" @sjr60 said:
" @night13flyer said:
"J/K radioactive Lego"
No radioactivity... might be sooty Lego though!"

Coal-fired power generation emits significantly more radioactivity into the open environment than nuclear power generation per kilowatt hour."
The press release for an upcoming Pripyat Lego Store!"

Indeed, coal power has emitted significantly more radiation into the environment and is significantly more harmful than nuclear power, even when you include that. Reinforces the point very well.

MK is my closest store now that Watford closed. Damn you Lego!