Soult's Retail View

Isabel Macdonald outside her new store

Tamworth’s new John Lewis at Home opened its doors on Wednesday (12 October), eight months after I broke the news of its impending arrival.

The 42,000 sq ft shop at the edge-of-town Ventura Park is John Lewis’s sixth in the ‘at Home’ format, following the opening of stores in Poole, Croydon, Swindon (which I … Continue Reading

Outdoor zone, Clas Ohlson, Newcastle (23 Aug 2011)

If the people of Newcastle were still unaware of Clas Ohlson this morning they shouldn’t be by the end of the day. Adding to the billboards and posters that I mentioned a fortnight ago, the Swedish ”modern hardware” retailer’s latest marketing push has included leafletters … Continue Reading

Clas Ohlson billboard, Gateshead (8 Aug 2011)

Everything seems to be gearing up nicely for the opening of Newcastle’s Clas Ohlson store, just two weeks today on Wednesday 24 August.

The Northumberland Street store’s hanging signage (below) has now been in place for a week or two, and there seems to be a big … Continue Reading

Habitat, Bristol (22 Feb 2011)

It’s hard to dispute that the last couple of weeks has been a torrid time for the UK high street, with a succession of well-known names either announcing bad news or collapsing into administration.

While HMV has a stay of execution for now, other retailers in that section of the alphabet – Habitat, … Continue Reading

John Lewis Tamworth (17 Jun 2011)

Following the confirmation, in April, that John Lewis will indeed be opening one of its ‘At Home’ stores in Tamworth, work on site seems to be proceeding rapidly ahead of the Ventura Park store’s planned … Continue Reading

Clas Ohlson, Leeds (21 Jan 2011)

Things have been pretty quiet on the Clas Ohlson front since the Swedish hardware retailer announced the latest stage of its UK expansion, back in August. Those new stores in Cardiff, Doncaster and Norwich have subsequently opened, just before Christmas, but there’s no news yet on where the next additions to Clas … Continue Reading

Lewis's Grotto 2010

With the collapse of Lewis’s and Robbs owner Vergo Retail being one of the year’s major stories at Soult’s Retail View, it seems fitting to mark the festive season with a warming good news story that has emerged from the retailer’s ashes.

For 130 years, generations of locals had visited Santa in his magical grotto at Lewis’s department store in Liverpool, but it seemed that the institution of Lewis’s Grotto would … Continue Reading

Clas Ohlson fascia

I’m not sure whether Clas Ohlson’s people are reading this blog, or whether – more likely – the obvious locations for new UK stores are fairly easy to identify.

Either way, I was interested to spot that the Swedish retailer has this week signed contracts for new stores in shopping centres in Cardiff and Norwich – following on from … Continue Reading

Main entrance of The Range, Stockton-on-Tees (31 Jul 2010)

Yesterday I finally paid a visit – by car – to the former Big W on Portrack Lane in Stockton-on-Tees, having twice failed to find a way of getting there by bus from Stockton High Street. Since April this year, the premises have housed a branch of the home, leisure and garden retailer … Continue Reading

BathEmpire.com homepage

This guest post was written by Rob Watson. Graham has allowed me to hijack his blog to throw in my perspective of retail on the Internet. I work for a company called Supplyant which offers marketing and e-commerce services.

I wanted to share a few recent insights from dealing with a client that runs a very successful eBay store.

Our client sells bathrooms products. Showers, shower enclosures, taps, towel radiators, etc. It’s all excellent quality stuff and I’d love to offer you all a discount, but I’m … Continue Reading

Upcoming PC World and Currys store in Northumberland Street, Newcastle (17 Jun 2010)

I was curious to read Retail Week’s recent article about the electricals retailer DSGi trialling a small-size dual fascia Currys and PC World store at Bluewater, following its successful introduction of two-in-one megastores … Continue Reading

Clas Ohlson fascia

Swedish hardware retailer Clas Ohlson has announced today that it will be opening its eighth UK store at Westfield’s Merry Hill shopping centre, at Brierley Hill in the West Midlands, by the end of 2010.

At 1,200 sqm (12,917 sq ft), the shop will be … Continue Reading

TK Maxx site at MetroCentre's Blue Mall

The trouble of spending too much of my time visiting town centres and shopping malls is that I end up with more potential blog topics than I ever have time to actually write about, accompanied by folders full of unused digital photographs.

One story that I’ve been sitting on for a while is the upcoming opening of TK Maxx at Gateshead’s MetroCentre, adding to a … Continue Reading

Bhs in Newcastle. Photograph by Graham Soult

Its interior may be somewhat dowdy, but I do have a soft spot for Newcastle’s Bhs store, in Northumberland Street.

True, the fashionability of some of the menswear is questionable, with colours and styles that are clearly aimed at an older clientele. However, the retailer’s introduction of trendier sub-brands – such as Trait and Atlantic Bay – aimed at a younger, more fashion conscious market, have … Continue Reading

Clas Ohlson's existing Croydon store

Happy New Year to you! You may recall that back in August last year (referring to 2009 as ‘last year’ is bound to take some getting used to) I blogged about the latest Scandinavian arrival to these shores, the self-styled “really useful shop” Clas Ohlson.

Back then, the retailer had already opened stores in Croydon (1,900 sqm / 20,451 sq … Continue Reading

Clas Ohlson sign

With so many old Woolworths sites being taken over by familiar high street names and pound shops, it’s nice when the new arrival is something a little more interesting. So I was pleased to read that the Swedish “modern hardware brand” Clas Ohlson is going to be opening up in the former Woolies in Kingston upon Thames, and is … Continue Reading

B&Q store. Photograph by David Wright

I was interested to read Retail Week’s comment piece today on the introduction of self-serve checkouts to B&Q, and to note the author’s scepticism over whether such a system really works in the context of a DIY store.

As I commented on the article, self-service checkouts were also in place at B&Q Scotswood (in Newcastle) when I shopped there a week ago. Having never … Continue Reading

New (top) and old (bottom) Wilkinson logos

Over the last few months, you may have spotted the new Wilkinson logo – above – that has been quietly appearing on the retailer’s bags and own-brand product packaging.

I’m yet to read anything suggesting that the new logo is any more than a trial, linked to the testing of a new store format; certainly, the full rebrand seems to have been rolled out to … Continue Reading