Lifestyle: Shopping – Selfridges smartens up Menswear to make Birmingham a male fashion haven

BIRMINGHAM department store Selfridges has taken the wraps off its new Menswear section after completing the first phase of the store’s £20m facelift.

Selfridges claims the new department is the biggest and most exclusive Menswear offering in the city.

Following an investment of nearly £4m, the department now covers the whole of the store’s Level 2 and is home to a mix of high-fashion designers, streetwear, up-and-coming brands and a dedicated Denim Studio.

Currently making up a fifth of the store’s overall sales, the new space – which occupies nearly 25,000 sq ft within the store – is expected to boost sales by almost 20% within its first year.

The investment comes at a time when the male fashion industry is booming, with sales up by almost 5% in the last year. Fresh predictions by the British Fashion Council indicate that the menswear market will grow by 27% in the next four years to reach £16.4bn.

The context of the move within the Birmingham retail sector is also significant and sees Selfridges make the first move in what is likely to be a series of heated exchanges during the next 12 months as the city gears up for the opening of a new John Lewis and the doubling in size of its Harvey Nichols.

Selfridges said the Menswear department’s increased fashion offer reflected the wider industry’s growth. The department now boasts more than 100 menswear labels – 15 of which are exclusive in the city. Its host of contemporary and streetwear designers – including Hood By Air, Bathing Ape, Off-White, and Pigalle – are said to acknowledge the youthful demographic of Birmingham, which has more under-25s than any other city in Europe (40%).

The store has also bolstered its global fashion offering, with brands such as Valentino, Lanvin, McQ and Tiger of Sweden. This has been done deliberately in order to broaden the appeal of the store to the high number of international visitors to Birmingham.

Research by Marketing Birmingham shows Birmingham is the fourth most visited city in the UK, with 941,000 international visitors last year – a figure that is set to continue growing following unprecedented levels of investment from the Far East in the region.

High-end designers have also set their sights on the city store’s new department, with iconic British brand Burberry opening its first ever in-store boutique. Labels including DSquared, Paul Smith (left), Michael Kors and Giuseppe Zanotti have invested in creating unique shopfits within Menswear.

The aim of this has been to re-invent the store as a Menswear destination.

Previously spread across various levels within the store, the retailer said one of the key goals of the relaunch was to bring the store’s menswear offering onto one floor for a comprehensive, easy-to-navigate shopping experience for its male customers.
 
The ambitious redevelopment, which has also seen the completion of the city’s biggest Beauty Hall and the installation of new display windows, will see every floor receive a complete overhaul by 2017.

Shoppers will get their first glimpse of the new-look department on Wednesday October 1 when it hosts an opening event.

New brands such as Been Trill, Kenzo, APC and CP Company will be showcased in a catwalk fashion show on Level 2, compete with music from guest DJ, MTV’s Laura Whitmore.

Kicking off at 6pm, the event will feature skincare promotions, Kiehl’s, a pop-up bar from David Beckham’s latest venture – Haig Club Scotch Whisky, in-store ping pong and gift incentives.

Ruben Richards, menswear sales manager at Selfridges Birmingham, said: “Our department has always performed well, but we knew that if we could make the shopping experience more coherent it would help to drive traffic and boost sales considerably.

“Bringing Menswear on to one floor helps us create a real destination for our shoppers, with a broad, enviable brand list, many of which cannot be found anywhere else in the Midlands. Whether it’s an everyday pair of jeans, a snappy suit or something for a night out, we are the go-to store for the very best in male fashion.”

Vicki Cain, general manager at Selfridges, said: “The newly-launched department represents a real commitment from us to providing a truly extraordinary offering for our male customers. It’s an area in retail that has been identified as having huge potential, so we’re capitalising on this by shaking up Menswear to make it bigger and better than ever before.

“We’re immensely proud of the calibre of brands here and of the variety we have. Some of the biggest names in men’s fashion have invested heavily in creating visually attractive, spacious areas that elevate the shopping experience, signifying that they see value in being a part of the city.

“Birmingham is young, but very fashion-savvy and our new department celebrates this, with a mix of products and labels that are completely unique to this Selfridges store.”