Is there a UK equivalent to Target?
 

I am moving to the UK next month (EEK!) and don't want to lug stuff like towels, sheets, etc. over there with me. I like Target stores in the US, as they have pretty good quality things at very reasonable prices. Is there a UK equivalent? I know that Walmart owns Tesco or Asda or one of those, and I don't like Walmart in the US too much.

Thanks!

I could fit all of my towels/sheets into a large suitcase, that is much cheaper than buying them over again.

I like Target too. I think you'll find that towels, sheets, etc. cost more in the UK. It may be worth your while making the effort to take them.

Marks and Spencer has some decent stuff, but is more expensive than Target. Costco is also in the UK.

And to be honest, finding really nice towels in the UK isn't easy. As m_kingdom says he can put all his in one suitcase. I couldn't get more than two or possibly three of my bath towels in a suitcase. It is rare to find wonderful big thick and thirsty bath towels. In fact a lot of visitors here from the UK buy towels to take home!

You can find really wonderful towels/linens in the UK -- But they are VERY expensive. Towels don't weigh much so I'd just ship a couple of sets of towels over.

But you can find inexpensive duvets/covers, and you only need bottom sheets w/ duvets so you don't need full sheet sets.

Maybe ship a couple of flat sheets and a couple of pillow cases plus some towels. The shipping costs won't be bad as long as you don't send them airmail.

If you do decide to buy them in the UK Morrisons, Ikea, Matalan, Argos and numerous other shops do cheap towels and bedding. You can look at www.argos.co.uk for examples of designs and prices.

I've never been to Target so I don't know how the quality compares.

Good ideas! It may be easier to just ship a box of stuff over now, so even if it goes surface, it may be there when i get there (4 weeks from today!).

We have Ikea here and I like their stuff. For those who are wondering go to www.target.com.

Thanx!

You'll find everyone you get to know buys their household linen at branches of the John Lewis Partnership. The Peter Jones branch in London's Sloane Square is a bit hoity-toity, but the other branches - almost all now called John Lewis - retain the custom of Middle England that Marks and Spencer have thrown away through their obsessive determination to be patronised by adolescents of all ages.

Asda, the UK Wal*Mart affiliate, sells the kind of towel your children take to destroy after rugby matches and the kind of sheet you line your slobrador's basket with.

Yes, John Lewis. I forgot about that store. Best place to go, but still more expensive.

fairfax, you may find that beds are a different size, so you may have to buy bedlinen in the UK.

All I can say , is living in Orlando, and checking in at MCO, all the Brits have HUGE cases filled with bath and bed linens and vitamins!Theirs might be better quality but ours are sure cheaper! When we visit our friends who have moved to the UK , they always ask that we bring towels and vitamin C. I pack them in those plastic bags that you suck the air out with your vacuum cleaner.

After staying with an English friend in his newly refurbished home, and using what he considered to be his "good" towels, my housewarming gift was a couple of Macy's best bath sheets. It was less expensive to ship them over than to buy the equivalent quality there.

Ok, Patrick, so YOUR towels are bigger (and I guess "better") than M-Kingdom's, but his/her suitcase is probably BIGGER than yours.

Honestly, I wish you two would call a truce because both of you really DO have valuable information to add when you want to....sigh!

The other really weird thing I have to bring with me for our friends is ..I can't believe it's not Butter spray!@


Don't ask! ..I won't tell!

Last time I was in the UK I had some extra time in one of the cheaper department stores and wandered into the linen department. The prices were horrendous - like four time what you would pay in the US - and the quaity was very poor - never mind a very limited selection for bed linens and towels (you could practically read through the latter).

Also - note that all sorts of consumer goods are way more in the UK than in the US - I don't know if its a function of the small size of the market or the lack of discounters or what - but many UK residents buy electronics in NYC because they;re so much cheaper here.

If you can bring your own - and they wil fit the bed - I would definitely do so.

What is THIS!!!!!

slobrador's basket

re the different sizes of beds -- that's why I suggested shipping just a couple of FLAT sheets. You don't use a top sheet w/ a Duvet and a flat queen or king sized sheet will fit as the bottom sheet on any sort of bed.

I agree with those who say ship your linens rather than purchase there (unless budget isn't a consideration). My Brit relatives haul huge quantities of sheets and towels back to the UK because the quality is high and the price is low.

>You don't use a top sheet w/ a Duvet<

janis, Is this some sort of a rule? I've seen plenty of both in my experience (top and no top sheet under a duvet).

To Intrepid: Huh? Were you reading something into my post? Could you please re-read that post and tell me I was somehow being nasty or offensive? I'd have said the same thing to anyone. A Brit says he can put all his towels in one suitcase. I mention I can't because our towels are bigger. What's YOUR problem here? I think you're trying to make trouble where no trouble was being indicated.

obxgurl, there isn't any need to use a top sheet if the duvet has a removable, washable cover. Hotels may provide a top sheet because it's easier to launder one sheet rather than a duvet cover, but at home -no top sheet. They (duvets) work much better, IMHO,without a top sheet.

I'm sorry, obxgirl! It's late, my fingers are doing their own thing now!