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Timberland has opened a store in Glasgow that has its own identity while still reflecting the brand. John Ryan takes a look around.
Timberland is one of those retailers that seems to have been around forever and which, for many, is shorthand for a particular US-led outdoor, pioneer style of life. Its stores tend to have a lot of raw or reclaimed wood as part of the fit-out and graphics that feature the great outdoors.
At its heart, the Timberland brand is closely associated with rugged, yellow boots of the kind that will enable the wearer to go yomping while keeping feet insulated, comfortable and, for those who favour that kind of thing, stylish. And in terms of brand heritage this is one of the stronger and more easily recognised labels on the market.
Perhaps the most iconic Timberland store in the UK is the one in Westfield London, which has been open since the shopping centre welcomed its first customers back in 2008. But there are many other branches and almost every one is different, although they do all have interiors that would enable most shoppers to work out where they were if the name above the door was removed. The rugged outdoor interior is one that Timberland has, to a large degree, made its own.Historic location
That said, there are exceptions. Head up to Glasgow's Buchanan Street, the upscale pedestrianised thoroughfare that runs through the heart of the city centre and there is a Timberland store with a difference.
Located at number 61, the two-floor shop replaces a...