Waverley's Game store to close as Ashley pulls back from high street

If what I have heard is true the only stand alone GAME that will be left in Scotland will be in Glasgow, and while the Edinburgh shop located within Sports Direct will remain open, they will continue without any staff dedicated to GAME sales.

Mike Ashley, pictured, whose Frasers Group has closed a number of Game stores across the UK recently

It is a great shop unit just along from Avalanche and I doubt it will be empty for long once they leave, but I’ve always felt they were a good fit with what we do along with Anime Republic and Damaged Society.

Unlike record shops, which managed to outlast the threat of downloads and then streaming computer games, shops are now trying to trade in a world were the vast majority of games are downloaded. While they have done well to keep going by selling related merchandise clearly GAME’s owners – Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group – have decided to not completely throw in the towel but certainly pull back from having a strong high street presence. It is maybe telling that the closure notice does not ask customers to visit the remaining Edinburgh shop but instead suggests they visit the GAME website.

In better news the old Body Shop unit in the centre has been transformed into a glittering jewellery shop by the Edinburgh-based business Fairy Made and while I can give no judgement on their wares it is good to see a local business giving it a go in these tough times for most retailers. Due to open very soon they were beaten to the post by a gents barbers opening on Thursday. While not located in a shop unit but in one of the two pop-up spaces opposite the Waverley Bridge entrance, they are I am told not a pop-up business and intend to be there permanently much like the Beauty Boutique and Mobile Plus are in the centre of Waverley Market.

Again I have no idea what the demand might be for a barbers like this though I have always said the centre needed a hairdressers shop as well as a shop offering tattoos and piercings, so while this is maybe a scaled down version of what I was thinking, this is not their first venture and they have already been successful in other shopping centres so only time will tell.

One thing I always warn potential businesses about when looking to move into the centre is that Waverley Market is not like other shopping centres, and I feel that is an advantage it has so long as the businesses are right for the footfall, which includes a lot of families visiting both from the UK and abroad and couples visiting Edinburgh for a long weekend.

As I was getting the train home on Thursday a headline in this very paper caught my eye. “Shock in Edinburgh as sudden closure sees Evans Cycles vanish from Fountainbridge”. It seemed odd as the owners were blaming their landlord who had served notice for them to close. Odd that is until I saw the owners were Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group.