Joe Browns debut store opens at Meadowhall

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Nov 7, 2017

One of the UK’s fastest-growing brands has entered physical store retail for the first time with Joe Browns opening its first ever store at the Meadowhall mall near Sheffield.

 
The Joe Browns store covers 4,000 sq ft store on Meadowhall’s High Street and is an eclectic space designed by creative agency Dalziel and Pow. Echoing the bight and colourful products the brand offers, the space is “full of interesting visual pieces and inspiring content such as hand-painted illustrative statements.”
 
The debut is particularly significant as it’s the latest in a trend that has seen pureplay e-tailers moving into the physical store realm. Misguided has already opened two stores and the biggest e-tailer of them all, Amazon, has been moving into physical stores both through organic openings and acquisition.

So why is physical space so important for brands already powering ahead in digital? Commenting on the launch of the Joe Browns debut store, Richard Crowther, Asset Manager for Meadowhall landlord British Land, said: “Our True Value of Stores research shows that stores improve brand awareness, customer service and trust and that ‘physical’ also contributes to online sales that do not directly touch the store.”
 
Meanwhile Joe Browns MD Simon Brown said he is “absolutely delighted with the store, I think we’ve achieved what we set out to do, which was to create an impressive three dimensional version of our catalogue. It crystallises our brand in a physical space perfectly.”
 
The opening coincides with the conclusion of Meadowhall’s £60 million refurbishment, which will be completed before Christmas. Some 73 brands including All Saints, Hollister, House of Fraser and Hugo Boss have invested £38 million in redesigning and refitting their stores and further upgrades are currently under way.