Welcome to the world of beige, the temple to easycare. It is easy to be sneery, in this north London branch of the Edinburgh Woollen Mill, but it does seem an unlikely new player on the high street. Last week, after the collapse of Peacocks, EWM rode in, like a knight in a pair of elasticated-waist trousers, and acquired 388 of its 612 stores.
The Scottish chain, based in Langholm in the borders, does seem to have been on a bit of a spree – last summer, the company bought 33 Jane Normans, as well as some soft furnishing stores and golf brands.
Founded in 1946 as a yarn dyeing business, the EWM opened its first shop in 1970 and now has 265, catering for a typical customer over the age of 45 with designs that are, according to its website, "ageless". It obviously is doing well, because chairman and chief executive Philip Day is worth around £300m.
I am the only person in this store for what seems like ages. A couple in their 60s join me, but leave without buying anything. Only a woman in her 50s buys a box of shortbread, one of the few nods to Scottishness alongside a two-for-one tartan blanket offer.
