More Than A Shop – The Leith Collective
Getting a store at Fort Kinnaird Shopping Centre, Edinburgh, has been a massive deal for us as a business and for the hundreds of local makers and creators who sell with us. We add something unique for shoppers too. When people come through our doors, they often say things like, “Wow, I’ve never seen a shop like this”, because we’re so bright and colourful and sell so many different things.
We’d been trying to get into a bigger shopping centre for a while, when British Land offered us an affordable space through their Really Local Stores initiative. Fort Kinnaird attracts annual footfall of 14 million, providing our makers and creators with a platform they’d never have reached on their own. This has changed people’s lives, giving them careers and financial independence. Originally, we were offered a space for a few months and we’ve now been here for coming up to three years!
British Land has supported us to grow. Over 450 makers and creators are now selling with us. Without affordable space, their businesses wouldn’t exist. Around a quarter are full-time sellers, achieving things they never thought they could. This is huge for their confidence. They’re positive role models for their children and people around them, and encouraging others to use their initiative too.
BRINGING SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO CUSTOMERS
We attract very diverse customers: teenagers buying jewellery, clothing and records, people who’ve moved house and want furniture that nobody else has got, older people buying gifts and upcycled items they remember from their childhood.
Our customer base is very loyal, which is gold dust. We have people who come back every Christmas to buy presents and gift vouchers, people who visit while on holiday and return every time they’re in the area or contact us to post items. Shoppers like the difference and how our stock changes daily.
Having a physical shop is important. Buying online, people can’t touch the products and delivery is expensive. Makers also can’t interact with customers in the same way, finding out what they’re interested in and what designs they want to see. We’ve seen businesses grow when they understand what customers want. One of our sellers went from making a few pounds a week, selling pictures of giraffes, elephants and flowers, to making a good full-time living painting characters from a popular Scottish comedy show.
THE FOUNDATIONS OF A COMMUNITY
The Leith Collective looks like a shop but it’s more than a shop, it’s a community space. We have customers who come every day, like the man who buys a card and eats his packed lunch here. It’s good for everybody to be around people, understand each other’s differences and build relationships. We work with partners to donate free coats and school uniforms.
We run a supported employment scheme for people with learning difficulties, disabilities or mental health problems. One autistic girl went from not being able to cope with the noise, lights and people, to managing the lights, turning on the tills, talking to customers and even opening the shop independently. With training and support, she started to manage one of our shops and is now managing a shop beyond us, progressing in her career in retail.
One time, a group of young people came in mucking about. I asked them what they were doing and they said they were bored, which started a bigger conversation. This led to them sorting their first CVs and email accounts, supported by their school and a local community centre, and then joining us for work experience. To this day, some of them are still with us. Developing young people’s employability skills is good for everyone.
We open shops out of necessity. People and small businesses apply to join us on a daily basis because this is a way to earn money when they’re looking after children, caring for somebody, studying, in between jobs or whatever life has brought them. This is only going to grow, as cost of living pressures increase and people need money for the essentials. We’re moving into a new store with British Land in Glasgow Fort in 2025, so local artists can sell in both cities, bringing customers a whole different range of products.
I can’t thank British Land enough. From day one, they’ve constantly supported us, listening to what we need, finding furniture for us to fit out our shop and moving anything heavy. They always contact us if another shop has something it no longer needs, to offer our makers and creators. I’ve never been supported as much as I have at Fort Kinnaird. This is the foundation of a community, helping the people who live next door, and everyone benefits.
British Land provides affordable space to local community organisations, charities, social enterprises and small businesses as part of our 2030 Sustainability Strategy: Greener Spaces, Thriving Places, Responsible Choices.