Joe Browns, the Leeds-based fashion brand, has officially opened the doors to its first store in the city (Saturday Dec 2). A large queue had formed at the city’s White Rose Shopping Centre as founder, Simon Brown, formally cut the ribbon.
Before cutting the ribbon, Simon touched upon what a poignant moment the opening was; “It’s really quite a remarkable milestone, to be opening a store in the city where it all started, in our 25th year of business. I want to thank all members of the team, from our store staff here with us now, to everyone back at our head office, from the merchandising department to the warehouse, it’s been a real team effort by the whole Joe Browns family and I’m extremely proud.”
Tracey Hepton, Marketing Director at Joe Browns said: “It felt incredibly special to open a store in our hometown and welcome the first customers through the door. The White Rose Shopping Centre is a fantastic location to showcase the very best we have to offer in fashion and home.”
The first customers were welcomed with a glass of bubbly and a gift bag as they walked around the 3,000 sq. ft Leeds White Rose store showcasing 400 lines across womenswear, menswear, and home. The new store, previously occupied by Paperchase, has created 14 new jobs.
Simon was joined at the store by Jo Carter, an NHS worker from Leeds. The brand had issued a call for ‘No Ordinary Joe’s/Jo’s’ to attend the store opening. The call was for a remarkable person who always goes that extra mile to help others. Jo was nominated by her sister-in-law, Carolyn Gardner, and received a Joe Browns gift voucher as a thank you.
Tracey explained: “We wanted to say thank you to a remarkable individual, and we were delighted Jo was nominated. Jo was able to have an exclusive preview of the store before any other customer, skipping the queue and meeting with Simon and the rest of the team before we officially opened. Jo then got to spend her voucher in store, even treating her husband to a shirt, which just goes to show how thoughtful she is.”
The Leeds store marks an exciting next chapter for the brand. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, it announced earlier this year expansion plans and is currently searching for sites for another nine new stores across the UK.
Leeds has become the fourth Joe Browns store. The other three can be found in York, Sheffield, and Bowness on Windermere.
