New kitchen ware store ‘Lakelands’ has recently opened in the high street of Kingston Upon Thames with its wide variety of kitchen utensils and gadgets ‘Lakelands’ seems too good to be true. As you enter the store your instantly aware that this is not a place to find a cheap bargain. With its ‘Cath Kidston’ layout the store instantly begins to feel very much like a Stepford Wife’s dream, however for mothers on a low income budget all the kitchen utensils and shimmering gadgets seem like a distant dream as the price ranges put a sharp dead end finish to the whole Stepford shopping experience.

Is it essential for these Stepford stores to be based Kingston Upon Thames when we already have one major store ‘John Lewis’ which covers everything for everyone no matter what budget range. Only time will tell if over the next eighteen months we see ‘Lakelands’ removed from our high street it will be quiet clear that the Stepford experience is and will only be a dream to most people.

However does ‘Lakelands’ introduce a new style of shopping to younger people with the gadgets and utensils being perfect for budding ‘Jamie Oliver’s’? With ‘Jamie’s Italian’ also fairly new to Kingston Upon Thames the inspiration for a career in the food industry is definitely there.