Shopping

Leeds has become known as the Knightsbridge of the North. The diverse range of shopping, from individual one-off boutiques to large department stores, including Harvey Nichols, has greatly expanded the Leeds retail base.

The Victoria Quarter is the jewel in Leeds’ shopping crown, located on Briggate, Leeds’ main shopping street. Other shopping attractions include the Corn Exchange, Leeds Kirkgate Market [5], Granary Wharfe, Leeds Shopping Plaza, Headrow Shopping Centre, The Light, The St Johns Centre, The Merrion Centre Leeds, Crown Point, Birstall Retail Park and the White Rose Centre.

In addition, there are 2 proposed shopping centres, namely the Harewood/Eastgate Quarter and Trinity Quarter.

Shopping in Leeds

Leeds has a myriad of options for shopping including the beautiful Victorian-era shopping arcades, offering anything from the reasonably priced to the expensive items [3]. If you’re after cheap stuff - and cheap food - the city markets (Kirkgate Market, the biggest cover market/market on one site in Europe) are the place to go [4]. Fascinsting even just for the atmosphere of a traditional British market. Plans are also afoot for a massive extenstion of the main shopping district. City Centre shops number well over 1,000, made up of modern shopping centres, the lovely arcades and busy streets - principally Briggate, a wide and attractive pedestrain street with all the high street favourites and much more (from time to time there are markets and other events, and there are usually street performances of some kind). Much of the central shopping area is pleasantly pedestrianised, making retail therapy even easier. City Centre Shopping Centres include:

  • Victoria Quarter - Home of Harvey Nichols, Louis Vuitton, Vivienne Westwood, and much more, the upmarket (and architecturally stunning) jewel in the crown of Leeds’ shopping district.
  • Thornton’s and Queen’s arcades, opposite the Victoria Quarter offer a range of interesting (if mainly fairly pricey) shops including some great boutiques and one-off places.
  • The Light brand new home of a 13 screen cinema, retaurants, hotel, bars, gym, secure car park and shops.
  • The Corn Exchange, centre of Leeds’ counter-culture has a stunning domed interior and a range of shops to please both label-lovers and teenage goths, as well as stalls and cafés. There are occaisional concerts, exhibitions, fetes and the Christmas decorations are lovely.
  • Granary Wharf (unofficial site), by the canal under the station, has a selection of interesting boutiques, restaurants, exhibition space, a small concert venue, street performers and more in a unique subterranean setting. There is also a regular market. The waterfront area is undergoing redevelopment but the range of shops on offer is set to only get bigger.
  • Other major City Centre shopping centres include the Leeds Shopping Plaza (still locally called the ‘Bond St Centre’), Headrow Centre, St John’s Centre and the rather shabby monolith of the Merrion Centre.

Out of town there is also the White Rose Shopping Centre with free parking. Birstall Retail Park has free parking, cinema, retaurants and shops. Junction 32 in Castleford is home to a host of designer outlet clearance shops. The districts of Headingley, Chapel Allerton, and Roundhay also offer a smaller (but worthwhile) range of boutiques and other shops.
In November and December, Millennium Square is turned into a christmas wonderland of stalls, eateries and fairground-rides for Christkindelmarkt - the city’s german christmas market. There are also several outdoor markets held across the city more regularly, including occassional french markets on Briggate.
OPENING HOURS: Most City Centre stores are open 9am-6pm Monday-Wednesday and until 7pm Thursday-Saturday, but close at 5pm or open at 10am on Sunday. Many larger stores are starting to open until 8pm Thursday-Saturday, and close to Christmas there are extended opening hours. Out of town shopping centres have individual opening times (see their linked websites), and in out-of-central districts, most shops are open 9-5 most of the week, sometimes extended to 6 or 7pm Thursday-Saturday.

Department Stores

  • Harvey Nichols - the first store outside London is still one of the most popular and profitable, with all five floors rammed with designer clothes, accessories, food and all manner of other latest-trend items, as well as the rich and beautiful buying them. The restaurant is also held in high acclaim.
  • House of Fraser - a few minutes stroll down Briggate is the city’s House of Fraser with its extensive designer and mid-range collections. Whilst a bit small for the number of clothes, people and the size of the city, it still has a great range of stuff and if you avoid saturday afternoon it doesn’t have to be a stressful experience.
  • Flannels is an ultra-exclusive department store with a branch of the outstanding Anthony’s restaurant and exhibition space, found opposite the Victoria Quarter on Vicar Lane
  • Debenhams and Marks & Spencers both also have large Briggate stores - there are several other branches of M&S, which originated in the city’s Kirkgate Market (see above) across Leeds, including a massive store at Owlcotes in Pudsey.
  • John Lewis is due to open in the city in a new development in 2010-11

Designer & Couture

Most designer stores are found in the Victoria Quarter or nearby, a few of the more prestigious names and stores located outside the area include:

  • Louis Vuitton
  • Vivienne Westwood
  • Oliver Sweeney
  • Hugo Boss
  • Tiger of Sweden - spacious fashion store in The Light
  • Cyanide Cocktail, 102 Merrion Centre - unusual location for a new concept couture shop
  • Co Cu - leading brand in couture corsetry have their studio and original show room in Leeds
  • Dawn Stretton - home-grown couture evening wear in the Corn Exchange

Boutiques

All the usual (and many less common) fashion chains such as Jigsaw, Diesel, Joseph, Levi’s, Eden Park, French Connection, Size?, etc etc have branches in Leeds, mostly around the Victoria Quarter, Vicar Lane, Briggate and its arcades. However where Leeds really comes into its own is an impressive range of one-off boutiques, particularly in the city centre but increasingly in areas such as Headingley, Chapel Allerton, Roundhay and Oakwood. There are far too many to list here, but a brief selection of highlights would include:

  • Accent - with male and female brances on Queen’s arcade
  • Tunnel - more trendy gear
  • Ark - streetwear labels galore at this popular Corn Exchange store
  • White Label Clothing - award winning own-brand designs in this intimate Corn Exchange boutique
  • Ginger Ink - popular trendy clothing in Headingley and Chapel Allerton
  • Ace - more grungy/bohemian Boar Lane boutique
  • Hip - what it says on the packet! Thornton’s Arcade
  • Sugar Shack (aka LS6) - their LS6 branded range and slightly offbeat clothes please the bohemian and student crowd that frequent this Hyde Park Corner boutique
  • Everything But Beige - cool, funky and friendly boutique with a range of clothes and other items in Granary Wharf
  • It may not be a one-off, but Joy (in The Light) is worth a mention purely because its such a cool, funky combination of great clothes and gadgets

Vintage

Forget charity shops (although Leeds, particularly Headingley has money, and they’re great if you’re on a budget/have a social conscience), Leeds is Vintage boutique heaven. The exchange quarter is the beating heart of Leeds’ bohemian culture, and many of the establishments are based round here. However, there are significant numbers at Hyde Park Corner, and across all the main shopping areas of the city. Some of the best include:

  • Blue Rinse - a Leeds institution, this large Call Lane store (it was two, its becoming one) has all your second hand needs
  • Vintage - simply put, down on lower Briggate you can rummage through mountains and rails of clothes to your heart’s content
  • Atticus - trendy Hyde Park Corner vintage boutique

High Street

All the UK high street names, for better and for worse, can be found in Leeds City Centre, many having branches in out of town districts and shopping centres. Here are the central locations for the big favourites:

The list could go on forever, but walking around the central shopping area, you will come across all the high street favourites eventually, even if not mentioned above.

Sportswear

The big names are all present as well as some one-offs…

Lingerie

Leeds has for some reason a plethora of underwear shops, as well as selections in all the major stores. Here are a few of the best:

  • Bravissimo - for the bustier ladies, an excellent and friendly Victoria Quarter shop
  • Gash - contemporary, stylish and couture lingerie in the Corn Exchange
  • Fit to Bust - funky Chapel Allerton store
  • Sacred Hearts - intimate, upscale Victoria Quarter store
  • La Senza and Ann Summers amongst others are on Lands Lane

Shoes & Accessories

Again, Leeds has all the major chains, with a concentration of shoe shops around the top end of Briggate and the arcades, as well as a smaller selection around Commercial Street/Central Square. Accessories can be found in many clothes shops and department stores, as well as various specific shops and boutiques scattered across the city.

  • Schuch, Dune, Sole, Aspecto, etc are all on the top end of Briggate
  • Jade - has a pleasant studio-style store on Lands Lane
  • Russell & Bronwyn, Clarks and various other shoes shops are on Commercial Street
  • Trendy Moda in Pelle is found in the Victoria Quarter
  • Harvey Nicholls has two floors of stylish designer accessories and shoes
  • Louis Vuitton’s store has a huge selection of the famous bags
  • Seasons - a colourful store for fashionable shoes and accessories in The Light
  • Broughton’s - off the beaten track on Cookridge Street
  • Kurt Geiger and Nicholas Deakin are two desginer stores with an emphasis on shoes and accessories in the Victoria Quarter
  • MB Shoes in the Corn Exchange
  • Skin also in the Corn Exchange for leather accessories

Design, Gifts, Handcrafts, Interior

Okay, so its a broad definition, but many of the shops listed blur the lines between the four. As with any large, innovative, happening city, Leeds has these shops in droves. There is a particularly high concentration in the Northern Quarter and Chapel Allerton.

  • Area - award-winning, and you can see why. This is the defining Leeds design shop with branches on New Briggate and Harrogate Road (in Chapel Allerton)
  • Loft - ultra cool design on Dock Street
  • Peter Maturi - stylish designer kitchenware on Vicar Lane
  • Piprala - cute little Headingley gift and craft shop
  • Angels and Angels Too - popular Chapel Allerton gift and design shops
  • Octopus - fun and funky gift shop in Queen’s arcade

Health & Beauty

Many of the top range health and beauty stores are found in the Victoria Quarter, as well as all the regular chains across the city, such as The Body Shop.

  • The White Company - simplicity, elegance and quality from the popular chain
  • Space NK - the first word in beauty
  • Rose & Co - wonderful old-world style apothecary with beautiful products
  • Jo Malone
  • Neal’s Yard
  • Crabtree & Evelyn

Electrical

As well as all the usual suspects, Leeds has several electro-boutiques and two of the most prestigious names around:

  • Bose may break the bank but if technology is your thing, it may well be worth it (Headrow)
  • The city’s branch of uber-cool Bang and Olufsen is on Street Lane, Roundhay

Deli’s and Food Shops

Of course, as with almost all of the UK today, supermarkets, M&S Simply Food and other chains dominate the food-shop market, but there are an increasing number of quality independent delicatessens, bakeries and other little food shops across the city. Many out-of-centre areas retain their local shops (though this cannot be said for everywhere) and the City Centre has an impressive range on offer, including:

  • Pickle & Porter - sandwich shop par excellence, this award winning little place just off Lands Lane gets mouths watering
  • Simpson’s - exclusive but excellent deli-cum-mini market on Dock Street
  • Harvey Nichols’ food court is small, squashed between Fourth Floor Restaurant and Yo Sushi, but it has lots of expensive goodies for that extra special something
  • Salvo’s Salumeria in Headingley has a range of fine authentic Italian produce
  • There are a number of Chinese food shops around Vicar Lane and the Templar Street Chinatown Arcade - including a well-stocked oriental supermarket on Vicar Lane itself
  • Out of this World is an excellent, well stocked, fair-trade organic minimarket offering all the food you could want, but tastier, healthier, more ethically responsible and, admittedly, more expensive
  • The lively area of Harehills (bus no12 or 13) in East Leeds has a bad reputation locally for crime and poverty, and whilst the visitor should be aware that it is maybe best not to flash expensive items or visit the area after dark, it is worth visiting for its fantastic range of food shops, cafés and restaurants from across the world. A true cultural melting pot, the area has everything from Jamaican grill-houses to Indian restaurants, Persian tea-shops to Eastern European supermarkets, and if you want to experience authentic international food or simply see another side of the city, it is an interesting place to go - and prices are far lower than in many other areas.

Books, Music, Video

Leeds has all the major chains such as Waterstones, Borders, HMV, Virgin Megastore, Music Zone, WHSmiths, etc and also a variety of smaller independent shops (as well as lots of second hand places - including a massive, well-stocked Oxfam Books & Music in Headingley)

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