Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Steamer Trading Cookshop is set to open the doors to its second store in a non-high street location this Friday.
The cookshop chain will launch the new branch at WestQuay shopping centre in the Hampshire town of Southampton on November 21. The single-storey outlet measures 297sq m (3,200sq ft) and is on WestQuay’s upper level near Marks & Spencer.
It will be alongside brands such as Jack Wills (also with only its second non-High Street location), White Stuff, Fat Face, Paperchase, Cath Kidston, Superdry, Boux Avenue and Timberland.
Located in the heart of Southampton city centre, WestQuay measures At 76,900sq m and boasts over 100 stores spread over three shopping levels. Major names include John Lewis, Marks & Spencer and Apple.
Commenting on Steamer Trading’s WestQuay debut, Sarah Mander, assistant director, retail leasing, at Hammerson (which manages West Quay), said: “The signing of Steamer Trading Cookshop is yet another affirmation of WestQuay’s position as the dominant centre in the region. Over the last year, we have added significantly to the centre’s line-up of premium brands, with Steamer Trading Cookshop adding to WestQuay’s long list of the very best aspirational retailers and restaurants.”
Steamer Trading managing director Ben Phillips added: “The creation of a new store at WestQuay is very exciting news for Steamer Trading Cookshop. We have had a long-held desire to open a store in what is a very strong region for us, but finding the right location was key. With WestQuay, we have everything we need and join an already strong mix of brands in a centre with true regional appeal.”
Southampton’s wide catchment covers a large resident population of 1.4 million within its principal shopping catchment that annually spends over £4.9 bn – 59% of all non grocery retail spend in Southampton – and is one of the highest in Hammerson’s portfolio.
Steamer Trading operates 32 stores nationwide, varying in size from 800sq ft to 7,000sq ft, and stocks a total of 10,000 products from 300 suppliers. Key brands include KitchenAid, Dualit, Joseph Joseph, Le Creuset, Kitchen Craft, Robert Welch Designs, De’Longhi, Magimix, LSA, Cole & Mason and Tala.
This month the chain has hosted in-store events with celebrity chefs Heston Blumenthal, Tom Kerridge and Bryn Williams at its Bluewater and Marlow branches and the team from I.O.Shen Mastergrade knives will be holding demonstrations in-stores in the coming weeks, at Bluewater (Thursday November 20), Chichester (Thursday December 4) and Thame (Friday December 5 and Saturday December 6). Customers will be offered free knife engraving on any I.O.Shen knife bought on the day of the demo and can get their knives professionally sharpened, with the proceeds going to charity.
