intu signs up new concept Flannels for intu Merry Hill

Luxury fashion retailer Flannels has secured 11,000 sq ft of space at intu Merry Hill to launch a new concept store.

The store will be the first in a roll out of a new concept for the fashion retailer and will showcase an edit of luxury fashion brands to customers in the West Midlands. It will open on the upper level of the popular shopping destination in December.

The store concept, designed by Argent, will feature custom bold prints and fabrics that can be interchanged to create a whole new experience, allowing the store to evolve throughout the seasons, with a bespoke marble inlay flooring consisting of Tinos Verde, Antique brown and Bianco vein marble.

In line with the Flannels ethos, there is a large focus on the customer experience, with investment into the entrance and till point areas. A luxury Click and Collect service will launch in the store, offering customers the opportunity to shop from Flannels’ array of luxury brands with the convenience of collecting from the store.

Nick Round, regional managing director at intu, said: “intu Merry Hill is already one of the country’s most popular shopping destinations for customers and retailers and with this letting, we’ve transformed a key part of the centre to create a brilliant new space where Flannels’ new concept store can really thrive.”

Carl Tallents, Flannels’ head of brand said: “We are excited to be launching our new store concept at one of the UK’s flagship destinations and to bring our luxury brand portfolio to shoppers based in the West Midlands. intu Merry Hill is a key destination for us and offers the opportunity to reach customers in new parts of the country as a result of its 18 million a year footfall.”

Flannels is the latest tenant to be signed up by intu since it took full ownership of intu Merry Hill in 2016. Next opened one of its biggest stores in the country at intu Merry Hill in the summer and a string of other popular brands have moved into the centre including Australian stationary and gifting retailer Typo, which has taken a 935 sq ft unit, Timberland, which will open a 2,150 sq ft shop this month and Footlocker, which is taking 9,600 sq ft for a new store.

Primark has also extended into the lower level of intu Merry Hill’s former BHS site to expand one of its most successful stores by 70 per cent, ahead of its opening there this month.

intu Merry Hill was recently named a top 10 shopping centre by data analytics company GlobalData according to research it carried out taking into account the requirements of both tenants and shoppers. The shopping destination ranked 8 from a list of 50 centres, one of eight intu shopping centres in the top 20.