Sigma Sports is quite a beautiful shop, kind of like the nightclub of sports shops. I doubt there's…read moremany places in London with a better range of tri gear, and so I'd say it's worth the trek (plus it's right next to delightful Kingston where you can do a whole load of other shopping/riverfront enjoyment while you're at it). Customer service is excellent, they've got loads of knowledge and helpful staff to advise you and not make fun of the fact you are buying a tri suit the day before the race. I was really happy with the suit I got - they guy insisted I try about 8 on and explained their pros and cons which was reassuring considering they are quite expensive. It showed how useful trying the gear on is that one make fit well in size L but I eventually bought another brand size S! Highly recommended, although dangerous if like me you find outgear equipment very tempting...

Generally okay if the item you want is in stock... But I would strongly advise against ordering…read moreanything that is "due in a few weeks" and I definitely wouldn't recommend using a Cyclescheme voucher. The communication and aftercare when things go wrong is absolutely abysmal. I ordered £3k of bike and accessories. One of the components was due in a couple of weeks, the rest was in stock. I received an email that my bike build had been booked in and was given a delivery date for my bike. The delivery date came and went. No communication at all. I contacted Sigma to be told that the component had been delayed. Only because I chased was the rest of my order sent. A couple of months passed by. No communication at all. I contacted Sigma only to be told that the component had been delayed further - by a whole year. The delay might not be their fault, but the lack of communication is. Because I ordered on the cycle to work scheme a refund was not possible. And instead was told I had £379 store credit. In the meantime I'd made an order for cash so asked if they'd be able to refund and apply some of my store credit. I was told that someone would contact me to discuss. After a couple of weeks I chased Sigma (again!) to find out how to use my £379 credit as no one contacted me. And I was told that no, they couldn't apply the store credit to my previous order. So I've been messed around, ignored, and have had nothing constructive offered to help with the situation. All I have is store credit to buy some stuff that I don't really need or want. I've been given a hollow apology - but actions speak louder than words. When things go wrong, how a company responds can make the difference between customer loyalty and never using that company again. I will not be recommending Sigma Sports to my cycling friends.

A good branch of Topshop as the shop is now on 2 levels! The stock is always laid out neatly making…read morebrowsing around the store easy. Upstairs, there is both a Petite and a Tall section and the shop also stocks accessories and underwear. There are fitting rooms on 2 levels so I have never had to queue to try anything on.

The North Face in Westfield is a decent sized store dedicated to the outdoor brand - it is in a…read moregood location on "The Street" area of the mall. The store isn't the best or largest branch TNF has in London, but it is up there - it still does lack compared to the Covent Garden branch, however. The staff didn't stand out too much - they did seem friendly enough and actually made eye contact with a smile, which can't be said about many shops in London sadly. They had some decent products in-store although the promotional offers and sales were limited compared to other stores. The store had a nice overall feel to it and again wasn't too impressive but was surely "A-OK" to warrant a three-star rating.

As a youngster I spent many an hour in this place. A small family business it was what community…read moreshops were like in the early 90's whilst sports fashion took over the huge JD sports and JJB which have promoted Chav culture to its current loss to soceity. This is the place to get some footie boots and then go back for some replacement studs or buy some training bibs for your team. They sell everything needed to play sports and the noticeboard might help you find a team to join regardless of the sport. The owners have remained, the helpfulness has remained and it is still there. I couldn't reccomend it highly enough for personal service, but this comes at a price as they havent the space to stock everything or be competitive with the SportsWorld/Sport and Skis of this world, but you get what you pay for and here it is an investment in community, supporting local business and a level of service a 18 year old with a earpiece and a radio could not wish or ever want to deliver. Visit and you will see what i mean. Be warned though the parking attendents dont like people parking outside the shop, although the owners usually can get you a warning before they try and book you.

I decided when I am no more a student, I will take my sports clothes a bit more serious. I would…read moremake sure I would look sexy in it and have different outfits for different occasions such as jogging, yoga or tennis. That is the reason why I already spotted the Sweaty Betty shop, nicely placed on Fulham road, there is a range of sports clothing for the fit, toned young woman - trying to make an effort! There are two reasons why I am not their ideal customer: First, I am not a fan of pink - this colour does not exist in my wardrobe, secondly is it really worth spending over £60 for a pair of track suit? Maybe after completing my legs, bum and tum class I want to show off in some well fitted shorts this summer...

Fantastic quality of work-out gear, friendly staff who are willing to help. The store is a bit…read moresmaller than most other Sweaty Betty stores in SW London. I've been here twice and have had positive experiences both times. Would highly recommend this store!

Brilliant shop, wonderful family business where the advice of the staff is invaluableread more

Despite negative online reviews over many years about this store, theu seem to still do nothing to…read morefix it. I know the staff didn't know this but today was my first trip out in a month, due to ill-health. I was stupidly looking forward to it, despite previous bad experiences going back many years. After all, a trip to a haberdashers should be fun, right?! What is it with their staff?! We went in there with smiles on our faces, eager to spend money - all we got back were scowls! The same faces, same scowls, that we've put up with for years, but each time I hope it will be different. I was stood right in front of two members of staff, waiting politely to be served. They deliberately avoided eye contact - didn't think to say, "Sorry, I'll be with you in a minute!" The customer in front of me was chatting away, full of smiles, but getting blunt one word responses in return. The person waiting after me was told, very rudely, "I'm sorry but you'll have to move over here!" Saying 'sorry' when using such a nasty tone doesn't quite fix it, I'm afraid! She was standing at the checkout after all but must have felt like she was being told off for somehow standing in the wrong place! I've had the exact same telling off so I know this wasn't a one-off! I remember on my first visit, a staff member actually yelling at me, "YOU CAN'T BE BACK THERE!" Simply because I was looking at fabric on display for sale in the shop! I hadn't even noticed that the till was on the cutting table in front of me, 2 metres away! I was nowhere near it & certainly not about to raid it! Why put fabric for sale there if customers aren't allowed to stand there?! Despite this, like an idiot, I apologised! That's how scary these women are! They work in a haberdashery - a dream job for many! I'm sure the shop could find lots of amazing women to work there who'd love their job and take pride in their work. Instead, they have a bunch of miseries who act like they don't want to be there! Needlecraft had no competition for a while as the haberdashery in St Albans had a similar reputation. Now, under fantastic new young management, the St Albans shop is reinvigorated! Full of atmosphere, smiles, and good manners, Needlecraft finally have the competition they so badly need. Sadly, that shop didn't have quite what I needed so I had to go to Needlecraft - though they didn't have what I needed either. My first trip out in a month ruined by rude ladies who give the rest of womanhood a bad name. For goodness sake, sort this problem out - reputation is everything, and your shop's reputation is notorious for all the wrong reasons! It might help to get rid of those awful lights - firstly because it's impossible to see the colours of fabric etc correctly. But also maybe they' re giving your staff 'sick building syndrome' - maybe that's why they're all so incredibly grumpy?!

This Primark store was formerly a branch of Allders. It covers three floors and it very spacious…read more The ground floor has womens clothing and accessories, the first floor has childrens wear and womens lingerie and the second floor has menswear, homewares and womens shoes. There is also a customer services department for refunds and queries. It is an extremely busy store but nevertheless there are ample checkouts and the staff deal very efficiently with the queues so the wait is never too long. There is an excellent range of products and the store seems to be kept reasonably tidy compared to the smaller branches.

As Primark's go this is one of the better ones, but it's still like a glorified jumble sale most of…read morethe time. I can't understand why Primark seems to attract the kind of customers (not all of them of course) that will just drop stuff on the floor and not pick it up leaving clothes everywhere for the poor staff to run around after. Good disabled access with disabled changing rooms and specialist low pay point and lifts as well as escalators. Cheap and cheerful and just outside next door there is a plaque to commemorate the fact that it was the birth place of H G Wells.

PUMA as a brand might be well-known such as Nike and Adidas however I've noticed their network of…read morestores in the UK is much smaller - this branch is located on Carnaby Street, and like most establishments in that area, it is a large step to get in. The store seemed to be slightly overstaffed but you'd never know it with the staff barely doing anything other than talking amongst themselves. The store wasn't too big but did have a decent selection, including with Manchester City jerseys and on a display outside - it might be London but this shows Puma's commitment to pushing City everywhere, after all, they did spend £65 million a year to make the jerseys - I would have expected more of their training and other merchandise however maybe if it meant selling lower numbers of jerseys In quantity, yet not selection. It still seemed better, selling real stuff compared to the likes of Adidas and Nike who have more running stores - selection in some areas and of course access could be better but I feel the store warrants an A-OK 3* rating.

The Puma Black store on Carnaby Street is a fun place to browse and has fun London decor. Although…read moreI haven't found the staff very friendly, their products are nice (albeit expensive). I am also a bit frustrated that this store feels very male-dominated with only a tiny selection of women's shoes and clothes compared to the men's section that is four times the size. I do pop in here frequently and enjoy browsing but haven't felt that a lot of the products justify the cost. It's worth a stop in, though, if you're on Carnaby Street.