Bullring pulls off a major coup as it secures Victoria’s Secret

BIRMINGHAM’S Bullring shopping centre has marked its 11th birthday with the announcement of a major coup to its roster of retailers.

US lingerie giant, Victoria’s Secret, has chosen the centre as the location for its first store in the Midlands. The new shop will open on the Upper Mall West later in the autumn.

Tim Walley, General Manager at Bullring, said the decision was major coup both for the shopping centre and the city as a whole.

“Since our spectacular 10th birthday celebrations last year we’ve been able to announce a number of high-profile brands as new tenants at the centre,” he said.

“This summer the first standalone Michael Kors store in the Midlands opened a 3,808ft unit on the Upper Mall East and Whistles has opened their new 2,713sq ft store next door.

“Later this autumn US lingerie giant, Victoria’s Secret, will open their much-anticipated shop on the Upper Mall West in what is a real coup for the city. These store openings demonstrate Bullring’s strength and add to what is already an extremely strong retail offering.”

Walley said another significant development was the reinvestment carried out by a number of the centre’s leading retailers.

“Selfridges has recently invested £20m into their store with the launch of the new Beauty Hall, which is the biggest outside of London, as well as revamping their women’s and menswear departments. Pandora has recently taken a larger unit on the Lower Mall to deal with customer demand, and stores such Clarks, Leslie Davies and Starbucks have improved their units with refurbishments,” he said.

“As we edge towards Christmas we’ll be announcing a handful of new brands who will be opening stores here before the festive period. We’ll also be hosting our AW14 fashion show and our student discount event, both of which are extremely popular with our customers.”

With the new Grand Central scheme and its John Lewis anchor set to open next year it is important the Bullring, which has dominated the city’s retail offering for the past decade, continues to be on top of its game.

However, the commitment by the retailers is a welcome show of confidence both to the venue and the wider city as a whole.