Twelve new stores will open in Croydon, the owners of Centrale & Whitgift Shopping Center say. Unibail-Rodamco Westfield (URW), which owns the South London shopping centre, has announced that a number of new retailers will be moving into the centre.
According to Retail Week, this includes London’s first Loupe store, which sells fine jewelry and luxury watches. The new showroom measures 900 square feet and is located on the ground floor of Croydon Central Shopping Centre.
The Loupe store will be the only location in Croydon to sell popular brands such as Rolex, Omega and Breitling. Furniture and decor retailer Izzy Home Store has also joined Loupe in its move to the south London borough.
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Noodle bar Chopstix and Pollock’s Toy Museum are also set to open in Croydon as part of a new deal with URW. And Croydon shoppers will be relieved to know that several national and international brands have renewed their contracts at Central & Westfield Shopping Centre.
These include footwear retailer Deichmann, as well as Saraf Jewelers and outdoor clothing store Trespass. As part of its commitment to supporting the local community, the shopping center has also renewed its lease with Fashion Meets Music, which showcases emerging artists, and the Turf Project, a charity that provides free exhibitions and space to local artists.
Jason Perry, Mayor of Croydon, said: “We are pleased to welcome Centrale & Whitgift’s new and existing retailers and local organizations who are taking advantage of the opportunity to support the Croydon community from this key town center location. We welcome these signatures.” These are exciting times for Croydon and, in partnership with Unibail-Rodamco Westfield, we are driving the regeneration of our town centre.
“It’s great to see the investment and confidence in the Centrale & Whitgift center growing. hoping.”
New mini mall in Pearly Way
The announcement comes as a new 40-store mini-mall opens on the site of the former Sports Direct gym in Purley Way, Croydon. The site had been a hotspot for commercial and domestic waste for several years after the gym, which previously occupied land at the south end of Purley Way, closed.
A group led by Warrington resident and business consultant Koby Yogaretnam has taken over responsibility for the site from the incumbent landlord with the aim of building a state-of-the-art shopping center on the commercial thoroughfare. “The idea behind it is that we want to create a retail complex, for example a mini-mall. This will increase the capacity of local start-ups,” Yogaretnam told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS). It will be helpful,” he said. You can trade in an affordable way.
“Currently, high streets in places like Warrington and Purley are charging around £20,000 a year in rent and fees, which is incredible. For some, just going to the store is becoming less appealing.
“We want businesses to get involved – not Starbucks or Costa, but local greengrocers, butchers and others who are being priced out of the high street. We want to keep rents low enough to be available.”
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