Dozens of eager shoppers queued for hours yesterday to be first in the door of Inverness’s latest new store – and win some prizes.
Joules opened in the Eastgate Shopping Centre yesterday at 9.30am, but some hardy souls had been waiting since 5am – some of it outside.
Around 50 people waited patiently outside the centre for more than four hours in the hope of being in the first few customers and pickingup some vouchers.
Despite the main shopping centre not opening until 7am, Ian Ritchie, 35, from North Kessock, braved the freezing cold as he stood outside the centre from 5am in a bid to get his hand on the coveted £500 voucher up for grabs.
He said: “I started queuing at 5am. We have always shopped in Joules in Aberdeen and online. This is much better than getting things ordered to the house, then they don’t fit and then you have to go and get more. It was definitely worth the wait. It was a bit chilly but I had my thermal flask with a cup of coffee.”
Meanwhile, Samantha Fox, manager of Hotel Chocolat – which also opened in the centre just a matter of weeks ago – said the shop is a welcome addition to the centre.
“It’s so good. I think it’s really good to see better brands in Inverness. I was eighth in the queue and I arrived at 6.45am. I think it’s much more upper class, more classy for Inverness. I’m really excited, it’s really good.”
Joules manager Lauren Morrison said she was delighted with how the opening had gone. She said: “To open in a new location is really fantastic and its great to be the one to open the doors. When I first came, they had all got their vouchers and there was no-one here, they all left. But actually when we opened the doors there were massive crowds outside. We have a massive following online and lot of people wanted to have a store here.”
Jackie Cuddy Eastgate Shopping Centre Manager said: “It’s an absolutely fantastic addition. What they have said is a lot of people in the area buy online which leads to all this talk about opening a shop. It’s really positive, I am absolutely delighted with the way it’s gone. It looks fantastic and is a great addition. I hope this store will bring in a lot more people to the centre.”
