I know what to say if asked: 'are you experiential?' - Kevin Buckle

Last week’s column certainly caused a lot of discussion about the future of Princes Street no doubt helped by being the lead piece on the paper’s Monday email.

Butcher Billy's work flies off the shelves at Avalanche

I’d consider it one of my least controversial columns and that was the gist of most people’s comments in that they were broadly in agreement.

If there was a consensus it was that folk do want to see Princes Street continue as a mainly shopping street and did agree that endless coffee shops, takeaways and restaurants were not the answer.

The idea that in five years’ time we would be talking about all the failed eateries in the city centre was something that seemed to hit a chord and while it might have been easy to get people to agree it is far harder to find any new solutions.

Local photographer henni.photo's pictures of an obedient Stormtrooper are big sellers

Since I was asked to join the Waverley Mall, now the Waverley Market, I have done my best to cater for all ages and all tastes while not disappointing those who vist expecting the “old Avalanche”.

In this I am very lucky in that most people of all ages have some interest in music so it is easier to broaden the appeal than in other sectors. Those who mainly stream their music will still buy T-shirts and other related merchandise and we have expanded what we have on offer accordingly while always looking to stock things not found elsewhere and working with artists both local and worldwide.

I think sometimes the Scottish element of appealing to visitors is overplayed. My experience is that people do want to go away with something they have bought on their visit to Scotland but if that is one of our Butcher Billy T-shirts the fact he lives in south Brazil is not important, their memory is one of buying something they love from a Scottish record shop.

On the other hand we sell a lot of cards and prints by local photographers henni.photo of a Star Wars stormtrooper pressing the button at traffic lights waiting to cross an Edinburgh road. This of course has great appeal to Star Wars fans while also acting as a souvenir of Edinburgh.

Whenever I have time I explain that the photo was not staged and the guy really was wandering about like that. Similarly with Butcher Billy we will tell customers he was chosen to create the Edinburgh Fringe Festival poster in 2020.

We used to sell a lot of local artists’ music by giving customers similar backstories but sadly that demand has disappeared for a variety of reasons.

One lesson that could be learned is that when Avalanche came into Waverley Mall we were given a deal that gave us time to establish ourselves and grow to suit the footfall we encountered. I’m sure there are still retailers out there who have something to offer on Princes Street if they too are given time to build.

Of course it isn’t just about Princes Street and surely there should be a way to restore the fortunes of Rose Street for instance.

I’m not a great fan of the “experiential retail” pundits love to extol but certainly in our case at least we have found adding to the buyer’s experience with a backstory is something they appreciate.

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