Liquor Store drinks to success with National award win

OUT of thousands of successful, independently-owned menswear outlets in the UK and Ireland, a small yet thriving store in Birmingham has been crowned winner of one of the most prestigious awards in the independent fashion sector.

The boutique – which is hidden away from the main high street along with a range of other independent gems – has been recognised as Menswear Independent of the Year at the Drapers Independent Awards.

It is an honour the shop owners could only have dreamed of when they began trading in the 2012 during the height of the recession.

Owner and founder of Liquor Store, Phil Hazel said: “If there was one award that we would have liked to have won, it would be Drapers. So it feels nice to get some recognition for what we feel has been quite a lot of hard work over the last five years.”

Since opening in Birmingham’s Great Western Arcade, the store has grown increasingly popular with locals searching for unique, quality brands that will stand the test of time in the fast-paced fashion industry.

But the items stocked aren’t your usual, extortionate designer brands.

Liquor Store sources and stocks international brands that you can’t find anywhere else in the city with 90% of its wares unique to the shop.

Japan, Scandinavia and America are just a few of the countries from which Liquor Store obtains its unusual brands.

“We opened the store when times were tough, but we’ve tried to stick true to what we are as a store and not put brands in there purely to make money, but really choose brands that we really believe in and want to put across to the people of Birmingham,” said Mr Hazel.

“It’s for the guys who want to know they’re wearing quality, but don’t feel the need to shout about it.”

The store – which was founded on the basis of having a large offering of timeless denim products – mainly sells an eclectic mix of carefully handpicked menswear and as of last year, now stocks womenswear and homeware in the boutique opposite, the aim being to offer a “clean tailored identity for ladies”.

“What we’ve found is that people will initially be coming into the shop asking ‘do you do this brand?’, but now they shop the shop, they’ve bought into the fact that Liquor Store holds great brands and they’re now looking at the garment primarily but in a way that they know if it’s in the store it’s going to be quality it’s going to be that timeless look,” added Mr Hazel.

So what’s next for the Liquor Store?

Mr Hazel hopes to continue to build the womenswear and homeware section of the business, whilst also expanding the menswear boutique, allowing the garments more “room to breathe.”

He also has events lined up with Lee Jeans and Nudie Jeans in the hopes of providing more than just a clothing outlet for his loyal customers.

“My vision has always been to open a store that’s all about the products, quality throughout, product knowledge of the staff to passion for selling the goods and really trying to create more of a community store that wasn’t just primarily a clothes shop it was more about people buying into what the store itself was about,” he said.