Former Book World store on Princes Street to become Scottish heritage shop
The Scottish goods store is a sister brand of the Edinburgh Woollen Mill.
The former Book World store on Princes Street is set to become a Scottish heritage shop, according to plans submitted to Edinburgh council.
The site, which sits in between Uniqlo and M&S, was most recently home to the arts and craft store The Works.
The unit has been vacant since The Works moved to a new location further along Princes Street in February this year.
Earlier this week, a planning application for new signage revealed the premises is set to become Gleneagles of Scotland.
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Gleneagles of Scotland, a sister brand of the Edinburgh Woollen Mill, opened a flagship store on Buchanan Street in Glasgow last year.
The brand sells Scottish knitwear, scarves and other clothing, as well as food and gifts.
The planning application was submitted on behalf of Purepay Retail Ltd, which trades as Edinburgh Woollen Mill, and is waiting to be approved by Edinburgh council.
The face of Edinburgh’s Princes Street has changed significantly over the last two decades, with many famous names and well-loved shops having disappeared or transferred to the nearby St James Quarter.
For years the once bustling shopping street has been blighted by vacant units, hoardings and scaffolding, and faced criticism from locals for the number of souvenir and shops targeted at tourists.
A draft strategy for a revamped Princes Street and the Waverley Valley published in 2024 was criticised as dull and uninspiring and rejected by councillors, who then agreed to call a summit with experts in transport, culture and heritage to draw up a more ambitious plan.
Earlier this year, plans to use money from the Capital's new Visitor Levy to fund the long-awaited £32 million revamp of George Street were blocked in favour of a broader city-centre project, including Princes Street.
Transport and environment convener Stephen Jenkinson said he had now asked officials to come up with a new strategy, embracing Princes Street, George Street, the "cross streets" running between them, and St Andrew Square and Charlotte Square.
He said: "All the projects are linked. We need a masterplan, potentially bringing together all the city centre projects into a programme of works to be considered by the committee.
"And we need to accelerate what we want to do with Princes Street. We need to see this in the round and I think we need an agreement across parties about what we're going to do."