Land Securities, owner of White Rose Shopping Centre, has confirmed three deals have been secured, creating an additional 40 job opportunities within the scheme.
Simply Be, Jacamo and Quiz have opened in the centre for the first time and Bank has doubled the size of its store, with a combined floor space of more than 16,000 sq ft. The new stores will provide Leeds shoppers with increased diversity in the centre’s high street offer.
Fashion retailers, Simply Be and Jacamo, owned by N Brown Group PLC, recently announced a roll out of a further 23 stores across the UK, with the White Rose store being the first to launch as part of the high street roll out.
Simply Be and Jacamo have opened in the North Mall, in a dual concept unit totalling 7,400 sq ft. Both clothing stores opened on 24 October and will be the first to launch in West Yorkshire and only the eighth store to open in the UK.
Jeanette Carter, head of retail development for Jacamo and Simply Be, said:
“White Rose is one of the key go-to destinations for shopping in Leeds, so it made perfect sense for Jacamo and Simply Be to open here and capitalise on the busy footfall.
“We expect our new store to give shoppers more confidence to engage with both Simply Be and Jacamo, as many people can be deterred from buying clothes online without trying them on first. Our fantastic selection of men and women’s clothes, matched with our inclusive size offering, great customer service and value, should please new and existing customers visiting the store.”
Harlan Pollitt, Portfolio Manager for Land Securities, comments:
“This is fantastic news for White Rose. The volume of transactions in 2013 has been really encouraging and in the past six months alone we have secured 15 new leases. To welcome such brands as Simply Be and Jacamo, which are not only new to White Rose, but new to West Yorkshire is a huge achievement and testament to the leading profile of the centre.”
Fast-fashion retailer Quiz opened its doors in the centre in a 2,400 sq ft unit located in the Central Atrium, which has further heightened the young fashion offer within White Rose.
In addition, due to continued sales success, men’s and ladies fashion retailer Bank has more than doubled the size of its floor space, taking it to 6,800sq ft. By relocating to the former HMV unit near the Central Atrium, Bank now offers shoppers a wider selection of popular designer ranges and street wear collections.
Pollitt continues: “The upsizing of Bank is particularly good news as the need to increase its floor space is a direct result of continued sales growth and the desire of more product choices from our 12.5 million shoppers. The store is already dual trading with a Bank unit in Leeds city centre which further highlights retailers’ confidence in White Rose.”
Land Securities has aspirations to further develop the food and leisure offering within White Rose. It has recently submitted a planning application to Leeds City Council for a multi-screen cinema, four additional new catering outlets and additional retail space, including extensions to the existing Debenhams and Primark stores with the planning decision expected by the end of the year.
Great news, well done all at the White Rose Centre.