Leeds Then and Today: Readmans

Do you remember shopping at Readmans? Andy Hutchinson reflects on the former Spence Lane superstore in Holbeck.

Transcript

00:00 Hi and welcome to Leeds then and today with me Andrew Hutchinson. Today we're

00:05 looking at a store which will be remembered by generations of bagging

00:09 hunters, Reedmans. Back in the day it was the place to visit for discounted clothes

00:16 and much much more.

00:19 The Reedmans store first opened here on Spence Lane at Holbeck in 1984 and even

00:28 by the turn of the century it was still competing with Harvey Nichols as the

00:33 place to go on a shopping weekend. The car park was always jam-packed full of

00:40 cars and even coach loads of shoppers looking for a bargain. This was an era

00:46 when out-of-town shopping really came to the fore.

00:52 [Sound of traffic]

01:01 Women's wear, children's clothing, men's wear, home wear. You needed a curtain? This is

01:08 the place where you got it. This was Reedmans and not only that it had a

01:13 cafe which many of you will remember enjoying a coffee and much more in.

01:21 I do remember Reedmans and I do remember going there with my sister in my early

01:28 twenties and I do remember enjoying just strolling around because there was so

01:33 much there but more than that I can't really remember because it's such a long

01:38 time ago but it was it was a really nice warm sort of welcoming place. I remember

01:44 that and I remember like the whole of Yorkshire you just meet people and talk

01:49 to people discuss various items with total strangers but it felt warm and

01:55 that's what I liked about it I think.

01:59 [Sound of traffic]

02:06 I remember it being a place that my my mother actually would talk about and say

02:13 let's go to Reedmans it's great for discount. It had a variety of goods and I

02:19 remember her and the neighbours saying let's have a trip out and I don't know

02:24 just go and enjoy some good shopping I guess it replaced well it's irreplaceable

02:28 because it was the place to be at the time so yeah.

02:33 [Sound of traffic]

02:40 Reedmans even sold M&S seconds it was very much at the forefront of a retail

02:46 transformation across the city and it will be remembered by generations of

02:52 shoppers despite not being here for the place to go on a weekend for bargains.

03:00 Thanks very much for watching bye for now.