Lovely high quality goods (Whittards)

Member Name: jennikitten

Product:	Whittards
Date:	28/12/08 (43 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Unusual products, high quality, nice for gifts

Disadvantages: Shop displays could be better

Whittards is one of my favourite places to shop - mainly because it sells the only kind of tea I like!

It specialises in varieties of tea, coffee and hot chocolate, though it also sells chocolate and a considerable range of accessories and gifty items like china, pots, dippers etc. Many of the items sold bear the Whittard name, and there aren't many high street shops (other than clothes shops) that can boast that so much of what they sell is own brand - and no 'value' versions in sight! (Perhaps if they tried that then they wouldn't have been £3 million in the red this year!).

Recently it has been yet another victim of the credit crunch, but has been bought privately and apparently there aren't any plans to close it down, which I have to say I'm relieved about! I don't shop there regularly as there isn't really any need to

Whittard is a higher end of the market brand, but it makes good stocking gifts and hamper gifts - especially with 3 for 2 offers around Christmas. In terms of style it varies between products clearly aimed at older people in terms of packaging and design, and the slightly more unusual stuff aimed at younger people or those of the dinner party giving age.

It does have some outlet stores as well, which aren't amazingly different in price but do give you a bit of a better offer buying in bulk of particular teas and hot chocolate drinks.

Their New Year sale can be quite good as they tend to sell a lot of obvious Christmas-themed goods that they then have to clear. These consist of things like seasonal chocolate, plates, tableware etc. All these things are of fantastic quality and the good prices in the sales mean you can pick up a great gift item or luxury treat for yourself.

One thing about Whittard is that their shops tend to be on the small side...at least the ones I've been to in Nottingham and Manchester. This means you get in people's ways and they get in yours quite a bit when it's busy. Also a lot of their displays are very low down or even on the floor (I'm five foot two), and so it's sometimes difficult to see and/or get to things. The shops do have a nice feel and smell to them though, and they usually have testers of drinks out so you can taste them, which is a definite advantage when you don't know what you like.

Summary: I'm glad it's staying