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 recently visited), Tunbridge Wells and Chester. Further John Lewis at Home shops are set to open in Ashford, Newbury and Chichester during 2012, while the retailer’s new Exeter store – originally announced as an ‘at Home’ shop – will, as I recently noted, be the first of a new ‘flexible’ department store format.

Cutting the ribbon at John Lewis Tamworth

While the ‘at Home’ stores focus on furniture, homewares, furnishing accessories, electricals and home technology, John Lewis’s strength as a multichannel retailer – highlighted in my recent Bdaily column – means that the full John Lewis range is available to Tamworth shoppers via ‘Click and Collect’. Products can be ordered online or instore by 7pm, and picked up from the store after 2pm the next day.

In a recent tweet, I suggested that John Lewis’s arrival in Tamworth was the biggest single retail event to happen in the town for decades – probably since the opening of the Ankerside shopping centre, in 1980, transformed the town centre’s retail landscape. The fact that there is now a store called ‘John Lewis Tamworth’ is remarkable enough in itself, but the 218 jobs that have been created by the £7m store – 200 of which are brand-new John Lewis Partners – also make it one of the biggest single retail investments that Tamworth has ever seen.

One of the Partners to have transferred from elsewhere is the new branch manager, Isabel Macdonald, whose career with the company goes back nine years – including seven years in the Reading store before her most recent stint as operations manager at Solihull. Hours after the store’s opening, Isabel took a few moments out to chat to me about getting the store ready for launch; the excitement of the opening morning; how John Lewis is seeking to establish itself as part of the Tamworth community; and how it is a “dream come true” to be branch manager of a store just twenty miles from where she was born and grew up.

Opening preparations

John Lewis at Home, Tamworth (3 Sep 2011)

John Lewis Tamworth’s transformation from a steel frame when I first visited in June to a fully-clad building in September and an operational store now is pretty impressive, and the efficiency of the process to train new Partners and stock the store is no less remarkable.

Isabel told me that her own work at Tamworth started seven weeks before opening, working with her team to ensure that the store had the “best-trained” Partners who would “give customers the service they would expect from John Lewis.” Meanwhile, she revealed that the process of filling the store with £3m of stock had taken just nine days to complete.

Three hours after the store opened at 9am, Isabel reported that cars had been “flooding in” to the 311-space car park, and that there had been 100 customers waiting in the queue for the doors to open – including one keen gentleman who had arrived at 6am. Early customer comments had been “lovely”, and the 80-seater instore café was also gaining positive feedback.

Shoppers enter John Lewis at Home Tamworth

Given Ventura Park’s reputation for traffic chaos, I was bound to ask Isabel for her view on how the roads had coped in those first few hours. While it was obviously early days, she suggested that the recent improvements to the road layout and traffic control – initiated as a direct result of John Lewis’s arrival and the nearby B&Q-anchored Cardinal Point development – seemed to be working. Clearly it will be something to keep an eye on, however; as Isabel noted, “We are keen to work with retailers and the council to make sure that Ventura Park is the most convenient place to shop for customers in the West Midlands.”

Range

A month ago, Retail Week reported that John Lewis was planning “tweaks” to the ‘at Home’ format in response to a performance that was “a little bit below what we expected”, and I raised this with Isabel.

While Retail Week suggested that John Lewis at Home stores will start to stock some lower-priced items – such as pictures, mirrors and rugs – Isabel was clear that the retailer’s longstanding ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ promise stands it in good stead: “What customers are saying is that they want to know they are getting value from John Lewis – that’s not necessarily being ‘cheap’, but offering value in terms of quality, price and service.” She gave the example of how the Tamworth store is offering a new, fully bespoke furnishing fabric service, where curtains can be ordered in custom sizes.

Birmingham

Not long after news emerged of Tamworth being the first John Lewis at Home in the Midlands, the Partnership announced, back in February, that a new full-line, 250,000 sq ft department store would open in Birmingham in 2014 – just 20 miles or 30 minutes’ drive away. With John Lewis already present in Solihull, Leicester and Nottingham, is this not a lot of stores in a relatively small area?

Seemingly not. Citing John Lewis’s investment in both online and shops, Isabel was clear that “the Tamworth and Birmingham shops have distinct catchments, and there is enough room for both to trade successfully”. While the Birmingham store is about having a presence in a major city centre, Tamworth – and the ‘at Home’ format generally – is “all about convenience”. The transport connections to Ventura Park seem to have been a big factor in choosing that location, with Isabel noting that the new Tamworth store will also serve towns such as Lichfield and Sutton Coldfield that have previously been outside a John Lewis catchment.

Town centre impact 

The latest CACI Retail Footprint map flagged Ventura Park as the UK’s tenth biggest retail park by expenditure; the arrival of John Lewis, with a new B&Q, Maplin and Next to follow, will surely propel it up the rankings. So, what does all this mean for Tamworth town centre – a location that has already rather struggled to define itself as major retailers like WHSmith and New Look have decamped to the edge of town?

Isabel was clear that John Lewis aims to work alongside the local retail community and to help “make Tamworth the best possible destination”. She observed that data following previous ‘at Home’ openings has demonstrated a “John Lewis effect for the whole area”, as shoppers take the opportunity to check out other attractions in those locations. The positive impact of the 200 new jobs will also filter through into the local economy, she argued, with many of the new Partners living in the Tamworth area.

Apart from the footfall and economic benefits, Isabel noted that her store is also working with three local charities – Tamworth Volunteer Centre, Rosie’s Helping Hands, and Bancroft Community Association – who took part in the opening-day ribbon-cutting ceremony and will each benefit from a donation from the retailer’s Community Matters scheme.

For all Tamworth town centre’s flaws – most notably its underwhelming market and lack of upmarket stores – there is, as I’ve observed before, much for visitors to enjoy. Visitors recently flocked to the Staffordshire Hoard exhibition at Tamworth Castle; the UltraSound Music Festival attracted a younger crowd to enjoy artists such as Tinie Tempah and The Wanted; and the town’s colourful floral displays this summer were, as always, among the best anywhere. The town centre also has some interesting and distinctive shops – notably the Irish fashion retaiiler, Dunnes; the independent Tamworth Co-op department store; and plenty of appealing independents.

John Lewis at Home is different to many of the other tenants at Ventura Park in that there was never any question of it being able to, or wanting to, open in Tamworth town centre. Ultimately, I would argue, it’s a format that works best on a retail park, and that was attracted to Tamworth specifically because of Ventura Park’s popularity and location.

However, if Isabel is right, and even a small proportion of John Lewis’s visitors check out what the town centre has to offer, the arrival in Tamworth of one of retail’s biggest names may indeed be cause for wider optimism about the town centre’s future.

Mall plan showing Peacocks (screenshot from 4 Aug 2010)

I was interested to find out a few days ago that the fashion retailer Peacocks will soon be opening a store in my old home town of Tamworth, taking a prime spot within the town centre’s Ankerside mall.

Given that jobs in the store have been being advertised since June, and with the store listed as ‘coming soon’ on Ankerside’s own website, it’s hardly entirely new news. However, it was the first my mother – who still lives in Tamworth – had heard about it when I quizzed her earlier this week.

Ankerside Shopping Centre, Tamworth (22 Dec 2008)

Peacocks opening up in Tamworth may not sound like a revelation, but new investment from a major retailer is really positive news for a town centre that has struggled to compete with the out-of-town Ventura Park complex down the road.

M&S at Ventura Park, Tamworth (24 Dec 2009)

Some retailers – including Currys, Comet, JJB Sports, Mothercare and WHSmith – long ago closed their town centre sites in favour of Ventura Park, while others, like M&S, Next, Blacks and TK Maxx, have chosen to open up on the retail park instead of in the town centre. Even those major names who are represented in the centre of Tamworth often have a Ventura Park store as well, such as Argos, Boots and (soon) New Look.

Home Bargains in Tamworth's former Woolworths (19 Mar 2010)

Part of the problem has been Tamworth town centre’s chronic shortage of large, modern retail units. I’ve always thought, for example, that Peacocks, Primark and Bhs would all do well in Tamworth if only they could find the space. However, the only large unit to have become available in recent years is the old Woolworths in George Street, eventually snapped up by Home Bargains.

Wilkinson store, Tamworth (24 Dec 2009)

Prior to that, the most significant new arrival was Wilkinson, in 1994. Moving back to the town after some years away, Wilko’s also had to be creative in finding space, carving out a new unit for itself in Market Street from a former Berni Inn (The Peel Arms) and the adjoining car park.

Even in the relatively modern Ankerside – opened in 1980 and extended in 1992 – only two of the 60 or so stores are really large units: Boots, which has occupied the same site since the centre opened; and the privately-owned Irish fashion retailer, Dunnes, which took over the site that originally housed Sainsbury’s. Most of the other units are very small by modern standards, keeping Tamworth well provided for with mobile phones and greetings cards, but little else.

To get over this problem, there have been several instances in the past where Ankerside has knocked units together to create larger, more attractive spaces. If I recall correctly, both New Look and Clinton Cards started off in single units, before expanding into the ones next door; similarly, the current Poundland site – previously MK One – was knocked together from two units in the 1990s to accommodate Mothercare.

The deserted Gungate Precinct awaits demolition (19 Mar 2010)

In due course, Henry Boot’s Tamworth Junction scheme, a planned £75m redevelopment of the town centre’s old Gungate Precinct site, should provide Tamworth with room for some large stores; indeed, the same developer’s success in signing up Next, Desire by Debenhams, Bhs and River Island for South Shields’ Waterloo Square scheme surely bodes well. However, it is still likely to be several years before Tamworth Junction reaches fruition.

Henry Boot's Waterloo Square retail scheme in South Shields (24 Jul 2010)

In the meantime, all Ankerside can really do is continue making the most of the space that it’s got, with the three units closest to Ankerside’s top George Street entrance (numbers 4 -7) being combined to form a more viable space for Peacocks.

All three of those shops have had a fairly heavy turnover of tenants over the years, especially recently:

• Unit 4-5 has had a few temporary uses since The Works closed down following the company’s administration in 2008; before that, I can remember it housing Rumbelows, Millets and, when the centre opened, a ladies’ fashion store. [UPDATE, 23 Aug 2010: I believe the fashion store was called Walter Hibbert.]
• Most recently, Unit 6 was briefly Baybeez^{[broken link removed]}, but before that had been Priceless Shoes, Gilesports, and a local bakers whose name escapes me – Graham something, perhaps? [UPDATE, 23 Aug 2010: At some point, the bakers was called Don Miller's Hot Bread Kitchen.]
• Unit 7 has recently housed a couple of short-lived fashion retailers (Gimme 5 and Bells Clothing), after previously being a branch of Select.

The resulting store will, I believe, have a ground-floor sales area of just under 5,000 sq ft, or around half that of the nearby Boots shop – a decent size, but still quite compact by Peacocks’ standards.

Prompted by my news, my mother duly went into town for a recce a couple of days ago, and reported that while there was some banging going on behind the scenes, there was no visible sign yet of the three units being combined, with no hoardings, and no signs proclaiming Peacocks’ impending arrival. This all suggests that it may be October or November before the store opens, assuming that the retailer is keen to be trading in the run-up to Christmas.

Given the revolving door of underwhelming tenants at that end of Ankerside, it’s clearly a very positive step to be welcoming a relatively big-name retailer that is likely to stick around for a while – unless, of course, Peacocks does so well it decides to upgrade to a larger site at Tamworth Junction.

Until then, the increase in footfall from Peacocks will hopefully boost Julian Graves in Unit 3 opposite – one of Tamworth’s most appealing shops (and a great use of what has always been an awkward-shaped unit), but whose premises of less than 1,000 sq ft are quietly being marketed as “to let”, “by way of an assignment of the existing lease.”

Absurdly, the advertisement contains the wording “Confidential Disposal – Staff Unaware”, despite the fact that it’s easy to find on Google (simply by searching for “3 ankerside”) and – just in case you were in any doubt – includes a prominent photo of the current occupant.

Screenshot of letting information for Julian Graves unit (6 Aug 2010)

It seems like a case of people who should know better really needing to understand how the Internet works…

Former Zavvi, Newcastle (27 Sep 2009)

Well, that’s a surprise! I’ve only just discovered that I’ve been photographing and blogging about a former Woolworths store – here, and more recently here – without even realising it. 

While I was vaguely aware that there had been a Woolies in Newcastle’s Northumberland Street many years ago, I hadn’t realised that it occupied the soon-to-be-Peacocks former Zavvi building. 

Woolworths, Northumberland Street, c.1970?. Photograph from Newcastle Libraries

The presence of the Fenwick department store in both shots above is the giveaway – and Newcastle Libraries’ superb Flickr stream has quite a few more images that show the Woolies store in all its glory. Interestingly, one great shot shows the Woolworths store still open in 1983; presumably someone out there can shed light on when it closed, and whether the property was anything else prior to becoming the Virgin Megastore. [UPDATE, 29 October 2010: I've sourced some old newspaper articles referring to Next's takeover of the site in 1985, and which infer that Woolies shut in 1984. More of that in a future post, I hope.]

The fate of the Northumberland Street shop seems to have mirrored that of many other large, city centre Woolworths stores across the UK. Between the 1950s and 1970s, Woolworths developed many flagship shops – department stores, essentially – in major city centres, occupying several floors and a prominent location. At the same time, there was often a smaller store at the other end of town – just like the branch in Newcastle’s Clayton Street. 

However, the 1980s saw Woolies downsizing or closing many of these flagship stores, at the same time as withdrawing from certain product areas (such as adult clothing and groceries) to focus upon the ranges for which it latterly became best known – toys, confectionery, homewares, entertainment and children’s clothing. Thus, cities such as Leeds and Newcastle lost their main Woolworths store at this time, but kept the smaller one. 

Similarly, when I lived in Sheffield in the 1990s, I remember hearing about the Woolworths store in Haymarket that had closed down some years before, having been rebuilt in the 1950s following war damage. The unit later became Dunnes Stores (which closed down and then reopened in the same spot a few years later), and currently houses a large branch of Wilkinson. 

Meanwhile, Sheffield’s second branch, on The Moor, lasted right through to Woolies’ ultimate demise at the end of 2008. In a neat twist, bringing us back to where this blog post started, that site too is reportedly going to become a Peacocks.

With thanks to Newcastle Libraries for the use of the historic photograph of Woolworths in Northumberland Street.

George Street, Tamworth (24 Dec 2009)

Take a look at the photograph above, captured in Tamworth’s main shopping street just before Christmas. Now, from a retailing point of view, see if you can work out what’s wrong with that scene.

To the right of the man in the photograph are some of Tamworth’s permanent shops – the lifeblood of the town centre. To the left of him are the backs of market stalls, facing into George Street. What’s outrageous, in my view, is the space (or lack of it) between the two – a couple of feet at best, and certainly only room to walk through in single file. If you have a pushchair or are in a wheelchair, forget it.

The result is that not only are the shops almost entirely obscured from the street – as you can see in the shot below – but that even if you know the shops are there, it’s a real challenge to navigate your way inside.

Market stalls in George Street, Tamworth (24 Dec 2009)

A similar scene a few months earlier (19 Sep 2009)

Tamworth Market (24 Dec 2009)

Reportedly held since Saxon times, Tamworth’s market has a remarkable heritage, and is something that has potential to be a real asset to the town. What a shame then that on the 450th anniversary of its incorporation, by Queen Elizabeth in 1560, today’s market is such a sorry affair.

To have ramshackle ‘stalls’ in the middle of the town’s main shopping street, where traders display goods on a stack of cardboard boxes, is nothing short of a disgrace. Indeed, when the town has a sizeable open space – St Editha’s Square – that seems entirely capable of accommodating a large number of market stalls with some degree of orderliness, I never understand why they have to be shoehorned into George Street at all.

A near-deserted Gungate Precinct awaits demolition (22 Dec 2008)

For as long as I can remember, Tamworthians have grumbled about the lack of big-name or quality stores in the town centre – no M&S, Debenhams, Bhs, Primark, River Island or Next, for example (though a few of those names, plus many others, are now accommodated at the Ventura Park out-of-town retail development, about 15 minutes’ walk from the town centre).

The planned redevelopment of the Gungate Precinct by Henry Boot – a scheme known as Tamworth Junction – is set to provide Tamworth with its first major town centre shopping development in more than thirty years, with an opportunity to offer those missing retailers the size and quality of space that has been lacking to date.

However, if any property scouts had been visiting Tamworth the day that I was there, they would have come away with the impression of a town centre where the shops play second fiddle to the market stalls – hardly an incentive for any prospective retailer to invest in the town.

Tamworth town centre from the Castle mound (22 Dec 2008)

What is particularly frustrating is that Tamworth town centre has such a lot of potential as an attractive and distinctive retail destination. Tamworth Castle, St Editha’s Church and the Town Hall are historic buildings of importance and beauty, each one a dramatic landmark within the town centre.

St Editha's Church, Tamworth (22 Dec 2008)

Tamworth Town Hall (22 Dec 2008)

Lined with interesting old properties, Lower Gungate, Market Street and Little Church Lane are all streets of real character and charm, populated by many independent shops. It’s no coincidence that the absence of market stalls allows these streets to be properly appreciated.

Lower Gungate, Tamworth (22 Dec 2008)

Market Street, Tamworth, looking towards the Town Hall (22 Dec 2008)

The town having a Co-op department store – run by the still independent Tamworth Co-operative Society – is also something of a novelty these days, yet it has managed to evolve and maintain its position at the very heart of the town’s shopping experience at the same time as other regional Co-ops have exited non-food all together.

Co-op department store, Tamworth (19 Sep 2009)

The Ankerside Shopping Centre is also a significant asset, and has aged quite gracefully in the thirty-odd years since it opened. Though it lacks a well-known department store as an anchor, the presence of one of the few Dunnes Stores outside Ireland gives Ankerside something different to everywhere else. Equally, the relatively small number of empty units is an undoubted positive in the current economic climate – and nothing short of a miracle, given that the out-of-town Ventura Park features even more retail floorspace than the town centre.

Ankerside Shopping Centre, Tamworth (22 Dec 2008)

With so many assets, its frustrating that a visit to Tamworth town centre can still leave such a negative overall impression – an observation seemingly shared by John Harper at the Tamworth Herald newspaper, who questions why “the dreary, lacklustre place it is becoming” cannot be transformed  into “a thriving tourist centre”.

Certainly, comparing Tamworth to some of the other, more successful town centres that I’ve visited recently, I can’t help feeling that Tamworth’s powers-that-be need to have more confidence in what they’ve got, and in what they could have.

If nothing else, the place deserves so much better than a bloke in the street selling random stuff out of a box.