Retailers offer a crèche for weary men

IT IS the perfect solution for the man who would rather not shop until he drops this Christmas. Not only can women abandon their children to get on with their shopping in peace, but now they can dump their husbands or boyfriends as well.

Marks & Spencer have devised a crche for the reluctant retail male.

With comfortable sofas, buckets of beer, newspapers and books, Scalextric sets, remote-controlled quad bikes and videos, it represents an oasis of testosterone amid the female clothing department for the shop-stressed man.

He can enjoy a moment of peace to watch a range of cult or sporting classics - from Monty Python to The Simpsons and Football’s Greatest Ever Matches - safe in the knowledge that his other half is shopping happily without his unhelpful comments and miserable demeanour.

Shoppers at the male crche in Marks & Spencer - located in the male rather than the female clothes store further along Princes Street - agreed it was a great idea.

"I wasn’t sure if it was just a display room, but it seems a pretty good idea as I am always getting dragged round the shops by my mother or my girlfriend," said Alasdair Holwill, 19, from Edinburgh. "It’s not really advertised properly, but I could quite happily settle down and watch The Simpsons."

Another fan of the concept was Marylyn Pettitt, 55, from Malvern in Worcestershire, who suggested something similar for women. She said: "My husband often sits on chairs when we shop, so this is a good idea. They should have a crche for women in the menswear departments as we get just as bored there, with newspapers, magazines, coffee and even the odd glass of wine."

Pete Swallow, store manager at Marks & Spencer, said the idea came about when staff noticed the bored body language of male shoppers.

"It is generally agreed that most men won’t enjoy shopping as much as women, or at least for the same length of time as women," he added. "Often, we see them huffing and puffing, sighing, whistling or hanging around outside the store, completely jaded, which is why we came up with the idea of offering them somewhere to relax and have a bit of fun while they wait for their partners.

"The crche will also provide a pit stop for those guys who enjoy shopping but who have left it to the last minute and need a break from rushing around."

Mr Swallow said the store would try to promote the crche better. "A sign will be arriving later which should make it clearer to men that they can sit down and relax here. We anticipate that it will be much busier when we get to the evening rush of shoppers - and we’ll keep everything here, including the beers, until Christmas, when we’ll review how well it’s worked.

"There are more men passing through this [men’s] store, which is why the crche is located here."

Later in the afternoon, business in the male crche did seem to be picking up slowly. Guillaume Cameron, 24, from Peebles, was discovered reclining happily on one of the sofas in front of The Simpsons, while his friend changed money in the nearby bureau de change.

"I get bored easily by shopping, so this is a haven," Mr Cameron said. "I think once guys realise this is not a display they will use it."

However, Marks & Spencer may have more difficulty convincing the older generation to pull out a beer and play with remote-control cars.

"My husband does get a bit bored when we go shopping, but he’s quite happy trotting behind me," said June Wallace, 67, from Edinburgh. "I can’t see him wanting to sit down and rest on a sofa. He just kind of resigns himself to it."

Marks & Spencer are not the first Edinburgh retail outlet to offer men a refuge: women’s clothing store Jigsaw has had sofas and newspapers available for years.

"There have been sofas, armchairs, newspapers and magazines here for men for the last seven years - ever since we opened on George Street," said the assistant manager Lisa Williamson. "The men also demand coffee, but they don’t get it. I think television and cars is taking it too far, as laying on something to read should be enough for them."

The move by Marks & Spencer was welcomed by retailers’ groups. Fiona Moriarty, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: "This is a good example of what stores can do to make the retail experience more comfortable for everyone, from babies to these lads’ lounges.

"Retail is now essentially a leisure experience, and the more people enjoy it the more they are likely to spend.

"Women will not feel they need to get all their shopping done so quickly if they are not being distracted by a husband who is getting frustrated."

Marks & Spencer has also introduced crches for men in Aberdeen, London’s Marble Arch, Gateshead, Cardiff and Sheffield.

In Marks & Spencer’s male crche in Gateshead yesterday, Adrian Bishop was relaxing on a sofa enjoying highlights of Diego Maradona’s "hand of God" goal from the World Cup clash between England and Argentina in 1986 - something else that would undoubtedly be popular with Scottish shoppers.

Peter Clark, who was in the Gateshead store with his friend Terry Moody, said: "This is great. They should have come up with this years ago."

Mr Clark, from South Shields, who had left his partner to go shopping, added: "She probably hasn’t even noticed. She’ll soon find out when she comes to claim us."