Manchester Arndale has continued to see strong take up from retailers as it announced PURESEOUL and Emma Sleep have both signed leases to occupy space within the centre.
Fast-growing Korean beauty store PURESEOUL will occupy a 1,662 sq ft space after signing for a 10-year term. Meanwhile award-winning mattress company Emma Sleep has signed a 5-year lease for a 1,789 sq ft space.
Beginning life as an online store in the summer of 2019, PURESEOUL has grown to selling thousands of beauty and skincare products from some of South Korea’s leading make-up brands. The retailer has recently moved from being purely online to opening stores in London and Oxford, but this latest letting will be PURESEOUL’s first physical store outside South East England.
Also starting as an online business, Emma specialises in expertly created mattresses which are aimed to improve sleep quality, through intensive research and testing. Now one of the UK’s best-selling mattress brands, Emma opened its first Emma Sleep showroom in Stratford, London to allow customers to book a personal product consultation and explore its range of mattresses. This will also be Emma’s first UK store outside of London and Manchester shoppers will be able to discover their exclusive Select range which is only available in physical stores.
The arrival of these two new retailers follows a series of lease renewals and regears at Manchester Arndale. Popular brands including Costa Coffee, Ann Summers, New Look, Swarovski, and Kiko Milano have all signed new lease agreements reaffirming their commitment to the centre.
This latest run of leasing activity caps a very busy first half of the year for Manchester Arndale with several new brands coming to the centre. These include Space NK, Kuoni, B&M, and HOP Vietnamese who all opened their first stores at Manchester Arndale. Meanwhile, growing brands Trailberg and Represent both selected the centre for their first physical UK stores. These new arrivals have taken Manchester Arndale to near full occupancy and with footfall and sales consistently rising the centre is continuing to attract interest from brands looking to introduce their offering to Manchester shoppers.
Scott Linard, portfolio manager for M&G Real Estate, said: “It is great to see two more fast-growing brands select Manchester Arndale as their first locations outside London. Following in the footsteps of Trailberg and Represent, Manchester Arndale is proving itself to be a great place for fashionable brands to showcase their products in a physical retail environment. Our wide catchment of visitors allows these brands to have access to a diverse mix of shoppers who are always keen to try our new and exciting brands who offer a different type of shopping experience. Alongside these two new arrivals we are pleased to see some of our most popular brands recommit their futures to the centre as it is proof of the confidence they have in Manchester Arndale.”
Steve Gray, head of European retail asset management at Global Mutual, added: “Emma Sleep and PURESEOUL are two exciting brands which we are delighted to welcome to Manchester Arndale. Having a diverse mix of new and established retailers allows us to appeal to a wide ranging audience ensuring that footfall remains high throughout the year, this is why it is also important to secure new lease agreements with some of our most popular retailers. Our great tenant line-up at Manchester Arndale is helping to pull in even more brands looking to either expand their Manchester presence or move to the city for the first time, and we look forward to welcoming more exciting names over the next few months.”
M&G Real Estate and Global Mutual act as joint asset managers of Manchester Arndale and New Cathedral Street while Metis Real Estate and Time Retail Partners are the centre’s retained letting agents, with Green & Partners retained lease advisory agents.
