Inside Eldon Square's new Søstrene Grene store. All photographs by Graham Soult
Thank you to joint venture partner Jonathan Cooper for giving me a preview tour of the new Søstrene Grene store at Eldon Square in Newcastle yesterday – the Danish retailer’s first North East shop – which has opened to the public today (Friday 30 August).
If you’ve seen previous posts by me, you’ll know that Søstrene Grene – with instore storytelling built around the fictional sisters Anna and Clara – is opening some of the most beautiful shops on British high streets just now, truly making a virtue of bricks and mortar spaces.
Newcastle is a fairly typical Søstrene Grene store in terms of size and layout, which usually requires about 3,000 sq ft of sales area and 2,000 sq ft of storage. This one is the ex-Lakeland, and the square space lends itself to the snake-like circuit beloved of Scandi brands!
Delightful
The local team… create fun and eye-catching merchandising touches.
Graham Soult
Søstrene Grene is often referred to as a homeware shop, though that doesn’t really do justice to the breadth of its range. Think posh Flying Tiger, or Scandi Muji. Indeed, the products are not only delightful, but impressive value too. Handwritten price labels are a pleasing detail.
In the Newcastle shop, the clockwise circuit moves from kitchenware to tea, packaging, candles, hobbies and art, stationery, interiors, accessories, children, and food and sweets, with the local team given opportunity to create fun and eye-catching merchandising touches.
Newness
Though some ranges and products are Søstrene Grene staples, many other items that come in are one offs that won’t necessarily be in stock again. This sense of constant newness – reflected in the fortnightly window changes too – helps drive sales and encourage repeat visits.
Eight years after opening its first UK store in Nottingham, Søstrene Grene is now really seizing the opportunities afforded by its growing brand recognition among UK shoppers, good availability of suitable sites, and – unsurprisingly – shopping centres wanting it to open there.
Interesting to visit my first @sostrenegrene in #Nottingham (there are still only three GB stores). Nice shop, with the customary Scandinavian one-way circuit, and some good, and excellent value, products. Very like Flying Tiger, but more crafty and practical! pic.twitter.com/7WT22Vi1WA
I wish the Newcastle store well – it is a lovely shop in a busy location, and will surely be a success – and am hopeful that other North East stores may follow in time. I have already made the case to Jonathan for Durham, Sunderland, Darlington and Metrocentre!
As ever, my work is about facilitating and celebrating diverse new arrivals on UK high streets – whether local or global, retail or hospitality – and, just now, there is barely a better example than Søstrene Grene to illustrate that the British high street is indeed not dead.
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