Midlands & East Anglia Premier Retail

Joules at Birmingham Grand Central

Joules at Birmingham Grand Central
Written by Roma Publications

Joules at Birmingham Grand Central

Birmingham Grand Central – part of Birmingham New Street Station – has been transformed, offering a unique shopping experience which comprises 60 shops, restaurants and cafés.

The development includes 60,000 sq ft of retail space all connected to a station which offers easy access around the West Midlands and beyond.

Birmingham Grand Central features a wide range of stores such as Cath Kidston, Fat Face, Jolie Piper and Monsoon Accessorize. Joules, a new addition to the retail space, covers 2000 sq ft and is located at the upper end of the development.

Working as the main contractor, RPF started on the site during August this year, however the design process began in May. RPF collaborated alongside the in-house design team at Joules to ensure a high-quality and timely project.

Joules at Birmingham Grand Central

Premier Retail caught up with Ronny Helvey, Marketing Director at Joules, to ask a few questions about the project. Ronny said:

“The new store opened its doors to the public in September, so it’s a very recent project. It’s a large project and a large store and as our product offer keeps growing we need more and more space! When these opportunities come along to open a good sized unit, we take them.

“Within the business I oversee the store design build and I partner with the Retail Director, Andrea Gray, who run’s the operational view.”

Founded by Tom Joule in 1989, Joules offers clothing for men, women and children, as well as eyewear and homeware ranges. The company philosophy is to provide upbeat, colourful clothing, which reflects the character and colourful personalities of those who love the great outdoors or cosy indoors, making the brand stand out against others.

Joules at Birmingham Grand Central

The philosophy was pertinent with regards to the store design; by definition the store is a showcase of bright colours, with walls and furniture that remain neutral in order to best showcase the colourful clothing ranges.

Ronny commented:

“There is a tongue and groove design on the  wall system with brick feature points, all painted white so that we could inject colour where required.

“The concept behind the Joules brand is based around families who enjoy walking the dogs and having a hearty cup of tea at the kitchen table, whilst looking out across the fields – so the original design for this store started out with a country kitchen feel, and since evolved into a more contemporary and less contrived concept.”

Joules at Birmingham Grand Central

There are several focal points around the store designed in an innovative way, such as the cash desk that looks like a kitchen unit with little wooden drawers on the front. Other design features include barn doors and brand graphics which display iconic British imagery.

For more information about Joules, please visit: www.joules.com.

 

RPF Projects

RPF Projects is a specialist provider of outsourced store design and development services, providing experienced retail designers and project managers to the retail industry. The company has been in operation since 2008 and has worked with a broad range of clients throughout the UK, including the likes of Kurt Geiger, Whistles, Ann Summers, COOK and Fraser Hart, amongst others.

Over the past seven years, RPF Projects has worked on countless retail projects across all the major UK shopping centres and high streets, including most recently Joules at Birmingham Grand Central.

Joules at Birmingham Grand Central

Peter Daniels, Director of RPF Projects, said:

“We have been providing Joules with an outsourced store development service since 2009 and we manage all of their shop projects. We love working with Joules and are proud to be part of their successful growth programme and this prestigious project in particular.”

Peter added:

“At RPF Projects we are proud of the quality of our people, which really shines through.  The shops we build are delivered reliably, cost effectively and on time – and they look great too.”

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Roma Publications