All-new Avalanche store will be bigger and better than ever
I’ve said for some time now that Avalanche needed more space and I’m more than happy to be able to say that I’ve finally managed to secure just the space I wanted.
The location we have has worked so well I didn’t want to move too far and in fact we are moving no further than the space opposite us next to the stairs that have the Taylor Swift x Butcher Billy exhibition which previously was part of the large Superdry unit.
It has not been straightforward by any means as it was previously where Superdry had their storage, office, kitchen and toilets so between myself and the centre’s owners we are building a new shop from scratch there with a new shop front and a wall built to divide the space up as we are taking two of the four units.
With twice the space of the current shop we can afford to keep all these facilities and indeed we will have no less than three toilets! It has been designed with a long counter the length of the side of the shop so we have plenty of room to file everything and can access the storage area to the side.
Otherwise it will look very much like the current shop only with much more window space as there will be two very large windows with purpose built display units behind them. We have always done well with people coming in asking for things they have seen in the window so the extra space will be put to good use.
Floorspace wise it will just be more of the same so a bigger poster table, more CD racks, more t-shirt racks and extra space for vinyl. We’ll be adding a few cabinets to display local artists’ work including one for the very popular Marie Allan punk teddy bears.
Given how hot it has been and how hot the Waverley Market gets I was glad to agree to being responsible for installing the air conditioning for the shop. It is a huge investment both by myself and the centre’s owners but hopefully will be well worth it given that currently it is just a dead space in the middle of a busy shopping centre.
It does leave an opportunity for some new businesses to join Waverley Market as the old shop will be free and as part of Mike Ashley’s plans to close standalone GAME shops their unit is to be vacated in September. We are currently hoping to be open in the new shop by the end of October meaning it will be free in time for Christmas. There is no doubt it is a fantastic location and I would be glad to give more information to anybody interested in taking it on.
With Sostrene Grene having taken the front of the massive Superdry unit that also leaves two spaces between them and Avalanche though I believe there are already serious discussions to fill those spaces.
The footfall is as good as it gets as might be expected for a shopping centre surrounded on three sides by Waverley Steps, Princes Street and Waverley Bridge meaning that even a relatively small independent like Avalanche can successfully compete with the big boys in what is a tough retail landscape.