Oh my, Tiger!
The Danish home and lifestyle retailer Tiger is absolutely my new favourite shop. Heading from one Fashion Week show to another on Monday, I stumbled upon the new-ish (it opened in August 2013) Tottenham Court Road Tiger store and found myself drawn into its very depths by the lure of fabulous and very well priced product. I very nearly didn’t come out. And I wasn’t alone, I was there with Alyson from That’s Not My Age and she was similarly smitten.
The company is well known in Europe (there are around 288 stores currently) but although it’s first UK store opened in 2005, it’s not on everyone’s radar. 2013 saw the company push hard to open lots of new stores in the UK-29 currently- and more are coming for 2014, which is fabulous news as far as I’m concerned. It’s aim is to sell stylish products in pleasant environments at ‘astonishingly low prices’ and it caused a ‘mini retail revolution’ in Denmark when it first opened in 1995, according to its website.
Think of it as the love child between Lakeland and Ikea, with a touch of Paperchase colour thrown in. Perhaps it’s the modern day Woolies? It even has sweets, although not Pick&Mix style.
There’s a vast range of mostly home stuff, from batteries to ipad covers, housed in a very nice shopping space. I really liked the Tottenham Court Road store layout, everything is displayed clearly on one level, with smart lounge-style lighting to soften the look. Also, it’s fun to shop, around every turn there’s something even more covetable and cute.
So what to buy? Well everything from spices to headphones, cocktail umbrellas to reading glasses, make up brushes to decorative dustbins. I fell in love with the butterfly scourers (£2) and the reading glasses (£4) and every purchase comes wrapped in ‘Movember style’ moustachioed tissue paper. But I was also tempted by lace doilies, felt cut-out table mats, pretty china vases and the stationery selection…oh my goodness, the stationery! Lace sticky tape, alphabet printed monkey tape, chinoiserie fabric wrapped note books and pencils galore.
And these cute fluffy head phones for £4.
And who doesn’t want a monkey climbing up their cocktail umbrella (£2)?
Honestly, fab shop. It seems pretty transparent about its CSR too as we’re always a bit nervous about super-cheap product.
It has a website to view, but not to buy, so you’ll have to hope you’ve got one close by. Have any of you already been similarly smitten by the shop?
Not often that London lags behind! We’ve had a Tiger store in Basingstoke for a few years and it is a brilliant emporium of the creative, fun and different! It is always one of my go tos when visiting the Town and much loved by all my friends too.
Debs, in this case Basingstoke has led the UK as it was Tiger’s first store here, so clearly there’s something pretty special about Basingstoke! And yes I think we are just catching up here in London with this awesome store. What else have you got down there we should know about? Ax
It’s fantastic – I am so going back for that bin!
We have a small but perfect Tiger store in Glasgow. I love everything in it.
There’s been a Tiger in Hammersmith in London for several years. Rather random stock but fabulous place to buy cheap reading glasses (£3) and more recently knitting and crochet needles.
My 11 year old bought the most fabulous huge afro wig from their store – it was 5 pounds and he has worn it so many times – what a fabulous store, I was devastated that we only discovered it on the last day of our holiday when our cases were already choc-a-bloc !!!
Now I know there’s one in Hammersmith -v close indeed -I will be visiting much more often A
Wood Green shopping mall too, I think.
There’s one in Stratford too – not in Eastfield (Westfield East) but in the old shopping arcade.
Christmas at tiger is amazing, my husband has much commented on sunglasses. Soap etc good and I live in a beret from there, cost four pounds.
WOOD GREEN!!!! I’m on my way
Jx