Exciting new shops to hit St Davids 2

St David’s in Cardiff has signed up another four new names as it continues to strengthen the mix of retailers in Wales’ biggest shopping destination.

Established brands VANS and The North Face are the latest retailers to join St David’s alongside food outlet Auntie Anne’s and The Perfume Shop, which is set to open its third store within the scheme.

Outdoor clothing and equipment specialist The North Face will sell high performance, quality and stylish outdoor products from technical climbing gear to casual apparel. The 3,500 sq ft store - its 11^th in the UK and first in Wales - will be located on the upper level of Grand Arcade, close to CK Underwear and Hollister and opposite GAP. Meanwhile, US footwear and lifestyle brand VANS will open a 2,314 sq ft store on The Hayes – between Hugo Boss and All Saints. Completing the letting of The Hayes, the VANS brand will sell footwear, apparel and accessories for skate, surf and snowboarding.

Within St David’s, Auntie Anne’s, the American pretzels specialist, will be located on the upper level of Grand Arcade – near to CK Underwear and Pumpkin Patch. The core product line-up at Auntie Anne’s includes a range of flavoured pretzels from original and cinnamon sugar to almond, pepperoni and garlic. The outlet will also serve pretzel Stix and Pretzel Dogs – an Auntie Anne’s Pretzel wrapped around a hot dog – alongside a selection of dips, its signature lemonades and bite-size Pretzel Nuggets. Auntie Anne’s began trading in 1988 at a farmer’s market stand in Pennsylvania, USA, and has since expanded to 1,110 outlets in 22 countries. The St David’s outlet will be Auntie Anne’s 11^th in the UK and first in Wales. Auntie Anne’s is the latest food retailer to sign up to St David’s, following Ed’s Easy Diner which opened within Lower Eastside this week.

And finally, The Perfume Shop, which already has successfully trading stores in Cathedral Walk and Town Wall North within St David’s, will now open an additional 588 sq ft store on the upper level of Grand Arcade in time for Christmas. The Perfume Shop has more than 200 stores across the UK. Earlier this year, The Perfume Shop also opened its third store on London’s Oxford Street but St David’s is the only shopping centre where the retailer will run three standalone stores.

Steven Madeley, centre director for St David’s – a joint venture between Land Securities and Capital Shopping Centres (CSC) – said: “It is fantastic to have secured a line up of four new lettings as we approach the second anniversary of St David’s. The new retailers have been attracted to the quality, scale and mix of retailers at St David’s to grow their brands within the Welsh marketplace.

“The new signings demonstrate how we are continuing to talk to new brands and bring new stores to Cardiff while helping existing retailers to expand their presence in the city. Both The North Face and VANS have excellent reputations and loyal fan bases with a quality offering. Wales boasts an incredible landscape for outdoor activities so I’m sure that these two lifestyle stores will prove popular. Meanwhile, Auntie Anne’s will bring a taste of classic American pretzels to the wide choice of eateries already available at St David’s while The Perfume Shop’s success to date has led to continued expansion, highlighting the scale and opportunity of retailing within St David’s.”

St David’s offers prime retail space in the heart of the city, totalling 1.4m sq ft and making up more than a third of Cardiff’s retail offering. Open late for weekday shopping until 8pm, St David’s now has more than 160 stores, including 30 restaurants and cafes for a complete shopping experience.

Jo Walker, managing director of The Perfume Shop said: “Cardiff as a city loves perfume and we already trade two stores very successfully there – a store expansion policy we successfully introduced many years ago. We are close to the likes of Apple and Hollister so the location of this new store was ideal allowing us to generate further perfume sales within the centre.”

For more information on St David’s, visit www.stdavidscardiff.com, search St David’s / Dewi Sant on Facebook or follow @StDavidsCardiff on Twitter.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

St David’s is a shopping destination which has transformed Cardiff city centre:

·         St David’s was the biggest shopping centre to open in Europe in 2009 with more than 120 new stores now open – and more to come

·         The pinnacle of £675m investment by St David’s Partnership – a joint venture between Land Securities and Capital Shopping Centres

·         1.4m sq ft of retail space in the heart of Cardiff: more than a third of Cardiff’s retail offering

·         A mix of designer names on The Hayes including Hugo Boss, Radley and Links of London with high street brands in Grand Arcade such as Cult, Warehouse, Lakeland

·         Anchored by the biggest John Lewis outside of London and featuring modernised department stores Debenhams and Marks & Spencer

·         2,500 car parking spaces open 24 hours, with prices as low as £2 after 5pm

·         Late night shopping every weekday until 8pm

·         Within one month of opening, boosted Cardiff up five rankings to 6^th in the UK’s top shopping destinations – up five places(Source: Experian)

·         Late night dining at Eastside and out on The Hayes with restaurants including Ruby Tuesday, Jamie’s Italian, TGI Fridays and Yo! Sushi

·         304 new homes above St David’s with Hayes Apartments

·         £1.5m public art scheme from landmark sculpture Alliance to smaller local projects across the city

·         An award winning library

·         For more information, visit www.stdavidscardiff.com or follow us on Facebook: St David’s / Dewi Sant, Cardiff