I often shop at Lakeland Leather, Southport as indeed I have again in the past couple of days & I find that the goods are of excellent quality if a bit pricey at times but I do believe that you only get what you pay for. However, I have stopped short of rating this store "excellent 5*" for just one reason & that is the appearance of some of the staff. Their demeanor & attitude towards their customers is good but I have to say that every time I shop there recently the first thing that takes my eye is not the goods on display but the first impressions of the sales assistants appearance, I hesitate to say this but it would appear that they have no pride in the brand if they turn up to work so badly turned out. I have noticed this for a while now but didn't want to make an issue of something that may be rectified over time (we all have bad days), however, I'm afraid nothing has changed. In the past I also noticed the assistants' appearance when entering the store but that was because they looked so smart & could often be found wearing items from the Lakeland range & showing them off to their best & therefore encouraging sales. I'm now of an age where I would probably be labelled "old school" but I still stand by the old addage that first impressions count for an awful lot.