Swap shop! How the Shambles Squirrel could lead you to a night in York’s five-star hotel

There’s a squirrel loose on Shambles – and he could lead you to a top hotel treat.

Cuffs & Co, the men’s lifestyle retailer on the famous street, has launched a new mascot, the red squirrel.

Why? “We chose a red squirrel to represent our brand – as the conservation of this iconic British animal is as important as the conservation of British manufacturing, something we are trying to promote as a brand passionate about British made,” said business founder Phil Pinder.

To launch the Cuffs & Co mascot, the store has partnered with the Yorkshire Dales National Park red squirrel conservation project.

Phil aims to raise funds for the project through the sales in the shop and in-store and online promotions.

‘Get swapping!’

The first of these is #SquirrelSwap.

This is an online swap shop. It began with a squirrel badge from the Yorkshire Dales National Park shop which was swapped for two pairs of Cuffs & Co cufflinks.

Then York Racecourse swapped the cufflinks for two County Stand badges to Ladies Day during the Ebor Festival.

And now the city’s only five-star hotel The Grand has swapped that for a night’s stay with dinner at its restaurant, The Rise.

Phil said they will make a total of ten swaps via social media – and the final item will be auctioned to raise funds for the National Park.

“We are now opening up #SquirrelSwap to our social media channels, and are looking for the public to now get involved and get swapping!” said Phil.