Lovisa and Virgin Holidays travel to St David’s

The St David’s Partnership, owners of St David’s in Cardiff, one of the UK’s premier retail and leisure destinations, has announced that Virgin Holidays and Lovisa are the latest brands to open at St David’s on Cathedral Walk.

In November Virgin Holidays, unveiled their first standalone Welsh store on Cathedral Walk.  The new 1,660 sq ft flagship v-room store concept offers experiential travel and holiday options to a range of global destinations including the Caribbean and the USA.  Providing customers with a unique and immersive holiday experience in-store, shoppers can sample the sights, sounds and tastes of their dream holiday before they book.  Designed by Your Studio and delivered by Resolution Interiors, the interior resembles a luxurious airport lounge to provide a relaxing environment.  Unique features include a complimentary bar, a children’s area and a selection of Virgin’s Upper Class and Premium Economy seats for customers to try.  A virtual reality rollercoaster specifically designed for the Cardiff store completes the offer, transporting customers from Cardiff to Las Vegas and back, via space.

Global fashion accessories brand, Lovisa, also joined Virgin Holidays on Cathedral Walk, selecting St David’s for their first store in Wales.  After launching their first site in April 2010, Lovisa can be found in 14 countries throughout the world with over 300 stores.  Taking inspiration from couture runways and current street style, their new St David’s location, situated adjacent to The Perfume Shop, delivers fashion-forward accessories at affordable prices.  A team of Lovisa stylists are on hand in-store to bring customers expert styling advice on current trends, styling techniques and personalised tips.  The new Lovisa trades from a 620 sq ft store on the ground floor.

Speaking on behalf of the St David’s Partnership, a joint venture between Landsec and intu, Colin Flinn, regional managing director – west, commented on the additions: “The Cathedral Walk line-up at St David’s continues to thrive, with numerous exciting new brands taking space.  We’re confident Lovisa and Virgin Holidays will follow in the footsteps of the successful MG boutique which opened earlier this year, and further add to the engaging retail offer.”

Peter Barker, UK property director at Lovisa, added: “The opening of our new St David’s location is an exciting milestone for Lovisa.  We look forward to our continued partnership with the joint owners of St David’s to deliver the ultimate fashion accessories destination in Cardiff, and share our wide range of beautiful designs, materials and expert finishing techniques with shoppers at St David’s.”

In addition, Kurt Geiger is relocating within St David’s, opening a 2,140 sq ft store on the Grand Arcade adjacent to Kids around in December.  The scheme has welcomed a string of recent openings including Oliver Bonas, CK Underwear and Kids around.  Superdry also reopened its refurbished store this autumn, featuring the brand’s first dedicated Superdry Sport entrance in the UK.

Cushman & Wakefield advised the St David’s Partnership.  JLL represented Virgin Holidays and Lovisa represented themselves.