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Brown Thomas 'Reinvents Retail'

 

Connor Owens, Managing Director, Asset Management (Ireland & Scotland)

This month an important milestone was reached at Dundrum Town Centre as the doors opened for a brand-new Brown Thomas.

The Selfridges-owned brand has invested in a 62,000 sq ft store, promising to “reinvent retail” with a concept based on customer experience and innovation.

With anticipation building in the lead up through media coverage and across social channels, crowds jostled with excitement to get a first look at the new store.

This was a launch like no other witnessed in the last two years and perhaps more reminiscent of a Hollywood premier. Outside Dundrum, Irish pop group Wild Youth created a wonderful atmosphere, including a set with six drummers to tie into Brown Thomas’s tagline “Beat of a New Drum”, while through the main doors a DJ spun her discs as customers began to gather.

Alannah Weston, Selfridges’ Group Chair and Donald McDonald, Brown Thomas Arnotts’ Managing Director made welcoming addresses to the crowd and officially opened the store.

The new Brown Thomas is an important brand for the destination. Not only does it repurpose part of the former House of Fraser, but the offering has been refined and taps into customer demand for sustainable fashion, rental services and live events.

It has focused on creating experiences that you can’t replicate online, in turn attracting a diverse mix of customers with more spend power and longer dwell times.

1. The Apartment: a designated ‘sanctuary space’ which can be reserved for relaxation, beauty services, private fashion shows and personal shopping

2. Wellness space: offering IV Vitamin Drips and Injections and Vitamin C and D Testing

3. Rent It: a fashion rental service incorporating luxury brands curated by Brown Thomas

4. Sustainable fashion: handbag restoration and exchanges, shoe repairs and trainer restoration services

5. Planet Beauty: a 12,000 sq ft world-class salon experience, stocked with 60 sustainable beauty and wellness brands

The impact has been immediate. During the first four days Brown Thomas attracted 54,000 customers, with 14,000 on Thursday, a phenomenal feat which constituted about 30 per cent of the total numbers to the destination.

The new store was well received by customers and the media who have praised the experiential concepts and the vision for a modern department store.

This is how you do retail in 2022.