For generations high quality brands such as Jenners, Darlings, and RW Forsyth shared the kilometre-long thoroughfare with a raft of popular stores, including John Menzies, C&A, Littlewoods, Woolworths, and Binn’s.
But recent decades have not been kind to these former retailing giants, and today only Jenners remains, and even that particular Edinburgh icon is all set to vanish.
Away from the big stores, there were plenty smaller outlets that also made their own indelible mark.
Many locals still recall their days shopping at the likes of Lillywhites sports shop, Rankin’s fruit & veg, and Saxone’s shoes. Successful UK-wide franchises such as HMV, Virgin Megastore, the Disney Store, and Burberry are much-missed too.
We asked the public which iconic shops they would like to see return to the city’s main drag, and, boy, did they answer.
To start us off, here are 11 Princes Street shops we’d like to see make a comeback – keep your eyes peeled for part two, which will follow soon.
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5. The Disney Store
To have a Disney store on a street named Princes Street, was pretty much a match made in heaven. If we close our eyes, we can still keenly recall the huge wall of fluffy Disney characters, the overwhelming aroma of polycarbonate plastic, and all set to the strains of Disney composer Alan Menken. Photo: PAUL RAEBURN

6. Smalls
Central Edinburgh had no shortage of large department stores back in the day. Here is the exterior of Smalls in Princes Street, July 1977. Photo: Ian Brand

7. HMV
It was a big shock to the system when HMV vanished from Princes Street in 2016 to be replaced by a Sports Direct outlet. The shop, which sold music, films and video games, was spread over three floors and hugely popular in the days before internet shopping. Photo: CHRIS WATT

8. Burberry
High fashion retailer Burberry was always busy with shoppers in the 1990s. Photo: TSPL

