It feels as if a certain boy wizard has cast a spell over York’s most famous street.
Seven months ago Shambles’ only connection to Harry Potter was as the supposed inspiration for Diagon Alley in the movie franchise.
But soon the former butchers street will have three Potter-inspired shops, with a fourth gift shop also prominently pushing the wizard merch.
And the two newest shops are owned by one of Edinburgh’s most prominent retailing families, who run a series of gift shops selling tartan kitsch in the Scottish capital.
Two shops become one
We reported last month that the family-owned Art Shop in the Shambles was to be transformed into The World Of Wizardry, complete with sorting hats and broomsticks.
This development followed the huge success of York retailer Adam Rodway’s Potter-inspired outlet The Shop That Must Not Be Named.
He opened it in May, ending a two-year search for suitable premises. An instant success, visitors are often seen queuing outside.
Now the same family who are opening The World Of Wizardry are knocking two other Shambles shops into one, ready to be rebranded.
Numbers 22 and 23, which date from the early 18th century, were most recently BootShoes4U and Something Different respectively.
They are to be combined into one shop, given a red frontage and renamed The Boy Wizard.
A planning application has been submitted to City of York Council to change the signage. Conservation officer Edward Freedman commented: “I would be concerned at the use of a vibrant red tone, but a more muted burgundy or similar is likely to be acceptable.”
Elsewhere on the street Barghest gifts, which recently relocated from number 3 to number 1 Shambles, has a window filled with Potter merchandise, from owls to mugs.
And Shambles cafe The Flax and Twine has had a hit with its menu inspired by the JK Rowling books.
Gold Brothers
The family responsible for the creation of both The World Of Wizardry and The Boy Wizard are veterans of the gift shop game.
Three members of the Singh family run Gold Brothers, a retailing empire which takes in multiple gifts shops on Edinburgh’s prestigious Royal Mile, as well as others dotted across Scotland’s capital.
The firm has often made headlines in the Scottish press, where they were once dubbed the ‘tartan tat kings’ for selling merchandise which has included ‘See You Jimmy’ hats and Nessie dolls.
But Malap Singh Gold told the Edinburgh Evening News ten years ago: “Where the public want to buy tat we put tat and where they want quality gear we put quality gear.
“You can go to any historic site in the world and you’ll find these types of shops.”
Capitalism exists shocker….
You have to question whether there’s enough trade for 3 shops even if it is Harry Potter. It will end up as a battle of attrition for customers and whoever has the deepest pockets will end up staying open with the others going to the wall. Sadly that may not be the one who had the original idea.
There was a lovely friendly wool shop in the Shambles (I’ve forgotten the name) who went out of business due to competition. I was in there just before it shut and the owner sadly let slip that people opening up to copy her had diluted her sales to the extent that she couldn’t make ends meet.