Joe Browns to move into physical retail with Meadowhall store

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 23, 2017

Mail-order and online retailer Joe Browns is to open its first physical retail store with the company set to open in Sheffield’s giant Meadowhall mall. It will debut there later this year as the mall completes its major regeneration works.
The move is part of a trend that has seen pureplay e-tailers moving into the physical space with Misguided recently opening its second physical store at Bluewater in Kent.

Joe Browns, which is one of the UK’s stronger growth stories at present, said the new location will be “bold and impactful” as well as “unique, quirky and inspirational.” It linked with London-based agency Dalziel and Pow for the design and the retailer, which is known for its bright colours and lively prints, said it wants the store  to “make its customers feel happy, confident and free.”

But outside of such noble aims, the commercial reasoning behind the opening makes sense with the firm having seen two years of record sales and a sales rise of over 30% during the period.

While e-tail is the key growth category at present, consumers are increasingly valuing omnichannel businesses and seem to be responding positively to those e-stores that also have a small number of bricks and mortar locations where they can serve up a more experience-based retail offer.

Joe Browns founder Simon Brown said: “We are non-conformist, open-minded and courageous which will be reflected in the store design to give people that haven’t heard of our brand the full, unique Joe Browns experience.”