Fashion brands to open at Dock
THREE established fashion retailers are to launch outlets at a £260m Yorkshire development.
All Saints, Rock Couture and G-Star will open shops at Clarence Dock in Leeds later this year.
Despite the announcement, it is not clear whether Gucci and Armani, two labels which had been mooted as opening at Clarence Dock, will also have a presence at the mixed-use site.
Simon Kidd, commercial lettings director at Crosby Lend Lease, Clarence Dock’s owner, said he believed the company was exploiting a gap in the Leeds fashion market by attracting “cutting edge brands”.
The 1.25m sq ft development includes residential apartments, offices, a hotel, a conference hall, restaurants, a casino, cafes and bars.
Some 1,124 new homes are set within the scheme and around 60% of residents are aged between 20 and 30.
Mr Kidd said: “Leeds is a great city for shopping. Victoria Quarter caters for the high end designer brands but there is a gap in the market for more cutting edge brands with attitude to satisfy the cool, modern and independent shopper.
“As a city, Leeds is very cosmopolitan with huge fashion direction, so the market is there but, until now, we haven’t had this concentration of urban fashion in Leeds before.”
Denim brand G-Star has taken a 2,200 sq ft, double fronted unit on The Boulevard in one direction, overlooking the dock at the other. While there is a G-Star in Manchester, this will be the first outlet for the Dutch-based denim brand in Leeds. The store is set to open in October.
Rock Couture is also opening its first store in Leeds, taking a 5,000 sq ft unit. Rock Couture sells premium denim brands including Rock & Republic, Seven For All Mankind Jeans, Lipsy, Juicy Couture, Diesel and Iceberg for women. There will also be a small selection of men’s brands. The shop is due to open in August.
All Saints has taken 5,000 sq ft and is due to open in October.
Brett Johnson, at All Saints, said: ‘While we already have a presence in Leeds at Victoria Quarter, we feel that Clarence Dock offers us a chance to capture a wider audience for cutting edge fashion, which is under represented in Leeds at the moment.”
The site has seen a Starbucks open and @larocca launched last month specialising in Tuscan food.
Further restaurants will open over the next few months including Pizza Express, Indian restaurant Mumtaz, Café Aagrah, which will feature a central kitchen, and restaurant The Roast.
London Clubs International will be opening £15m, 65,000 sq ft casino Alea in September. Tesco Express opened in January.
