Molton Brown signs Manchester Royal Exchange store deal

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jul 2, 2018

Molton Brown is continuing to upgrade its store estate and has signed a 10-year lease for a new location in Manchester.

The London-based beauty and gifts retailer will move its Manchester store this summer to an almost 1,000 sq ft unit at number 2 Market Street, which is part of the city's Royal Exchange building.

It's one of a number of brands that have been keen to sign up to the retail site in the last year as the Grade II listed building offers an upscale environment that fits in well with the profile of luxury and middle-market brands.

Other names to take space there include French Connection and Watches of Switzerland, as well as traditional-menswear-with-a-twist label Lanigan & Hulme.

It's a further example of how the most desirable shopping destinations are prospering even though many UK high-streets appear to be in terminal decline with large numbers of empty units.

Molton Brown is known to select its store sites very carefully and often goes for locations that have plenty of character. Interestingly though, while heritage and history are very much a feature of many of its shops, the company has also actively embraced new technology with enhancements such as ‘magic mirrors’ helping to add a buzz to the physical shopping experience.