If you ever go to The Centre in Livingston to shop...

[LivingstonAdvice]

Where do you live and how far do you travel to get there, time wise?

And do you go often? I'm planning on viewing a retail unit there but I am trying to understand why you would go there if you live closer to Edinburgh or Glasgow? I I guess it's easier/cheaper to park and easier to get in and out than either of the busy cities and everything under one roof, but is that a good enough reason to go there for most people?

For anyone who lives nearby and goes there often, is it fairly consistently busy all week or mainly only at weekends?

The sort of retail business we have is one that people will travel to if they need it, it's a specialist shop that caters to a specific market, so you won't find one in every town. The current shop we have now in England is one where people drive for up to two hours to visit because they aren't better served by anyone closer. As far as we can tell there isn't a bigger or better shop than ours serving this customer base in all of Scotland, so we are hoping people will travel from Glasgow in particular. Edinburgh is obviously less of a journey.

If you have teenagers do they ever go the Centre on public transport?

Is there much anti social behaviour and crime in that mall? I mean any more or less than you'd expect to find anywhere these days, sadly. But compared to being in the centre of Edinburgh or Glasgow for example?

And lastly, I've heard that Livingston can be a bit of a soulless new build sprawl and that the surrounding area is currently growing at a huge rate, but is it a fairly civilised and decent place to live, if not exactly exciting? I know there isn't much there apart from the mall and lots of housing estates, but what is general feel of the place? We may need to live there for a while if this comes off.

Thank you so much for any feedback, it will be much appreciated.

You would need to be bringing the customers you want, it's a really depressing shopping centre. It isn't a vibrant place full of teenagers trying on clothes and buying things. It has people hanging about at a loose end or getting food from Asda.

I've maybe been twice this last 18 months, but only because we were nearby for another reason and needed something. Both times we mentioned how dreary it was, I wouldn't go back.

If you were a good, specialist brand i'd heard of, I'd be surprised you were there but would go. If I was looking up where to buy a product and saw your shop, situated in the Centre, I'd assume you sold a fairly cheap, low end version of the product. It's possible you can make up the difference with marketing,but you'd be on the back foot.

Sorry, if it's not what you want to hear. It might improve or I might not be the target audience.

I live half an hour away and go to Livingston for shopping maybe 6-8 times a year. I also live half and hour from Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling but like the choice and variety of shops in Livingston, being close together, and the outlets are a draw. The parking is much cheaper than train to the cities too.

I would usually go at the weekend or maybe during school holidays, as I work weekdays is not practical.

I have a teen but I'd need to drive them to Livingston, it's not easy by public transport he'd have to go into Edinburgh by train and then back out again to Livingston so it would triple the journey time and not worth it. I don't think the train station is closed to the centre either?

Can't comment on what Livingston is like as a town to live in, I get the impression it's standard commuter-ville. Very bland as it's a 'new town.' Good for families, with the usual sports clubs and activities. The leisure swimming pool was recently demolished which is a huge loss.

Without saying too much about my job, I travel around several shopping centres in Scotland and NE England. By far, Livingston is the most populated (as in lack of empty units), busy with footfall and with a good vibe. Union Square in Aberdeen is pretty good, Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow is okay, and maybe the St James Centre is needing time to settle in (or too big to look busy?). Bear in mind my visits tend to be during the week, usually around 10am - 1pm to avoid busy times.

I remember going into Livingston thinking "This is what shopping malls used to be like!" Great shopping centre. EK on the other hand.....

Yes it's much easier to get to and from and park than Edinburgh which I'm actually closer to, so I do go there. The centre is good, always people around, lots of shops, there's a good range, I don't agree that people will assume it's a low end product-they have all sorts of shops there. And the outlet mall attracts people too.

It’s always been busy when we’ve been. I like it. We come over from Fife so we could choose Dundee or Edinburgh but like livingstone for the big car parks and larger choice in one area.

I’m in Edinburgh but close to the bypass on that side. I would go for something specific - the north face outlet for example - but not for a general mooch.
lots of nice bits around to live. The “New town” of Livingston was created from a collection of existing villages so there’s nice bits and less nice bits. Uphall is very very close and has nice bits too.

Name changed for this.

I work in The Centre. I have also worked in the Designer Outlet across the road. People definitely travel from further a field for the Outlet, particularly on the run up to Christmas and for the sales. I've known customers to come down from Aberdeen for a weekend shopping (Edinburgh one day, Livingston another)

The Centre is busier day to day with locals though, but it depends whereabouts your unit would be. Some areas don't get a lot of footfall. Do you know what shops you would be close to and I could tell you whether you're in a good bit or not? What kind of business do you have? Mondays can be dead, it picks up as the week goes on. January was painful, but I don't work in a clothes shop and that's probably what most people aim for in the sales.

There can be some trouble with teen behaviour during school holidays, although that happened more in the Outlet than The Centre in my personal experience. Shoplifting definitely happens, again is mostly young people. I don't think it's any worse than anywhere else. There's a lot of security staff who walk laps around the malls.

Plenty of teens come on the bus (it's free if they have a bus pass) but not the train, the stations are nowhere near the shopping centres. I don't really know what Livingston is like to live in, I live in a village about 20mins drive away, although it takes almost an hour on the bus. Most local towns and villages no longer have many shops or banks, so Livingston is an essential destination, for older people especially.

I live in Edinburgh and go there with my friend - she lives in a very nice bit at the very south of the town, so if you’re house hunting then look at Murieston and Bellsquarry. The Centre is a bit soulless at the Asda end with tat and lash/nail shops, but once you get past Superdrug it’s got some good shops with H&M, M&S etc. We tend to go to the outlet bit, but when I’ve been in the Centre it seemed fine - lots of people shopping and a good range of shops.

Really intrigued as to what your shop is?!

Sorry, I should clarify, I was only talking about the Centre. If you are grouping in the desigmer outlet across the road, it's nicer than I said.

This is very helpful, thanks so much. I don't want to say too much about my business on a public forum just yet, but I would like to PM you HungreeHipp0 if that's okay.

Sure, that's fine. Happy to help.

I live to the east of Edinburgh. If there was something I specifically wanted that your shop provided I’d travel over. It’s pretty easily accessible across the central belt. I go to the outlet at livingstone maybe once a year. I don’t think iv ever been in the centre. Iv never lived in Livingston but my impression is that it used to be fairly run down. As the cost of property in Edinburgh has increased more houses have been built on the outskirts and are perfectly fine places to live. I assume livingston is a soulless but adequate array of new builds and benefiting from the train station and the shopping centres which is more than a lot of new builds areas can say. I think it’s popular with families

What is EK please? Edinburgh something?

We have decided Edinbugh itself would be wrong for us, we did consider Glasgow but although we do have a few reservations about not having a big enough population right on the doorstep, all things considered we think Livingston is probably right for us, given that this is a shop people seem to be prepared to travel for. Going into the centre of Glasgow might put people off unless they already live in or on the outskirts of Glasgow, whereas Livingston captures people from outlying areas in other directions. Not to mention being in the centre of either city would be significantly more expensive for the type of unit we need.

I live about an hour from Livingston and an hour from Edinburgh. I go to Livingston maybe 4 times a year. I don't shop in Edinburgh at all. I occasionally go to Fort Kinnaird but prefer Livingston.

And I assume the poster mentioning EK meant East Kilbride.

Totally depends what you are selling whether this unit is right for you.

The centre used to be a lot busier, it’s lost some of the big cornerstone brands that guaranteed footfall. It’s not the prettiest.

I use it frequently as I live on the western outskirts of Edinburgh, it’s often easier to drive there than into town or use infrequent public transport to get to the city centre, however I use it as a “function” not an experience if that makes sense (need to buy vests for baby / take something back to M&S, not “lets go for an afternoon round the shops.)

As an ex retailer I would open in Livingston if I was selling high-volume lower price products or a recognisable mid range brand. I would hesitate if I was selling anything high end, bespoke etc, as that would be more suited to the likes of George St or more affluent suburbs.

My knowledge of working with the centre is from 10 years ago really but from what I remember rents / rates were quite high.

I used to live very close to Livingston about 20 years ago and used to go there all the time. The shopping centre felt really new and glamorous and American (like the movies) to us at that time! I expect it's changed since then, but I was in my early 20s and found it a really convenient place to get stuff. I went into Edinburgh or Glasgow to go out and meet friends etc, but Livingston for shopping. As for the town, I knew it really well at that time because I drove school buses there for a few months. I would say it was mixed - mostly fine, not the most exciting place in itself, but very handy for getting to a lot of other places.

I understand what you mean and I think it's a perfectly good location for our product range and our core customer base. We did consider more expensive, higher end units in more upmarket locations but we couldn't see any huge added benefit.

very handy for getting to a lot of other places.

Well that's great because it means people in lots of other places will find it handy to get to us! Thanks.

I lived in Livingston for six years, and as a place to live it's very new town, soulless isn't a bad description. The older areas have more of a sense of community, the newer bits tend to be very commuter town - we barely ever saw our neighbours. Whether that has changed since covid and with much more WFH I don't know. We missed having things like independent restaurants - there are plenty of chains. On the plus side, it's easy to get to both Edinburgh and Glasgow on the train (albeit the stations aren't close to The Centre so not so helpful for people coming in to shop).

We now live about 20 mins away, and it's still my go to place for shopping - decent selection of shops to get most of what we need, plenty of parking. I'm not someone who treats shopping as a leisure activity though, very much a necessity! Friends who love shopping as a day out go to Glasgow. My teenager gets the bus to The Centre to meet a friend who lives elsewhere in West Lothian and drink bubble tea. The Centre seems to be clean and well kept. There are loads of teens who decant from the local high school to get their lunch, and sometimes groups of teens hanging around outside at the weekend (particularly after the football) - I've seen the police engaging with them, but never witnessed anti-social behaviour, but I'm sure it happens.

I live between Livingston and Edinburgh, I go to The Centre quite a bit as the post office is there. Theres lots of parking in various car parks around the centre, all reasonable value I think. The bus station is there too and is always busy - but I don’t know much about the buses, sorry. There are two Livingston train stations, neither anywhere near the Centre - people call a taxi. The Centre is always pretty busy I find. Theres an M&S, a Boots, New Look, Primark, and most units are full. Lots of places to eat and drink too. As someone said, some parts of the Centre are busier than others, depending on the shops there I guess. It’s mobbed on the holidays and pretty busy every weekend. Coaches come from further afield at Christmas for example.
PS if you want to live in LIvingston, as someone said, Murieston or Bells Quarry are nice. It’s about a 20 minute walk to the centre from there (down hill, so up hill if you walk back, lol). East Calder is further out but also nice I think.

I've been exactly once. I usually quite like a trashy retail park so not 'above it'. but for various reasons i can't single out, it depressed the heck out of me.

Which bit depressed the heck out of you?! I mean, it’s just shops - inc Primark on several floors, Boots, a couple of banks, opticians, Sostrene Grene, H&M, Costa…I stay away from the tat end as most people do but once you get to Superdrug and beyond that in the Centre and over to the outlet it’s great. Obviously not the same level of choice that the St James Quarter or George St in Edinburgh has, but really good for shopping under one roof.

I live in the south of Glasgow and I often travel to Livingston to the centre/outlet.

For all the talk of it being soulless I’ve always found it a nice safe place, good for families etc..

What a previous poster said about it being the way that shopping malls used to be actually rings quite true for me too.

I live about 20 minutes away and Livingston is my go to place for shopping. We use the centre, the outlet and all the outlying large retail stores.

The centre itself has busy bits and one bit in particular that is never busy which I will call the Iceland wing, if you look at the map plan of shops you will see where I mean. Anyone parking at the asda end and walking through will almost exclusively head to the other side with the Primark.

No idea about public transport as there's virtually none from my town so we'd never use it.

You do get teens hanging about but not in an antisocial intimidating way, more groups of girls shopping and getting mcdonalds.

I wouldn't live in Livingston, I find the town quite depressing, very grey and very like Milton Keynes as an English comparison, roundabout city.

I would say the Calders were nicer or if you have a healthy budget, Linlithgow.
Winchburgh is very popular if you like newbuilds.