Birmingham’s premier lifestyle and retail destination, the Mailbox, has unveiled its iconic Urban Room today (Thursday 22nd October) as it celebrates a major milestone in its two year redevelopment.
The transformation of the Mailbox by owners, Brockton Capital and Milligan, began in 2013 and has seen a complete reinvention of the retail environment. The new vision has been shaped by extensive customer feedback and focus groups, guiding the creation of a haven for luxury shopping in the region, and offering a unique collection of international and national brands alongside high-end independents and designer pop-up retail.
The redevelopment has seen Harvey Nichols relocate to the centre of the Mailbox and open a remarkable new 45,000 sq ft concept store, in addition to attracting a premium leisure offer including luxury cinema operator, Everyman Cinemas, and independent bars and restaurants, Gas Street Social and Aluna.
The unveiling of the skylit Urban Room marks the biggest milestone to date. Designed by Stirling Prize winning architects, Stanton Williams, the Urban Room features luxurious seating and finishes, creating a beautiful space for shoppers to enjoy during the day and an impressive destination for Birmingham’s events, exhibitions and social activities after retail hours.
The Urban Room is home to a line-up of luxury retailers including BOSS, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Gieves & Hawkes, LK Bennett and Daniel Footwear. Armani Collezioni and Jaeger are set to open at the Mailbox in early 2016 alongside Kitchen Gallery and a host of other retail and F+B brands.
Simon Samuels, Partner at Brockton Capital, commented, “The Mailbox is the established location in Birmingham for luxury retail and its redevelopment plays a key role in the on-going transformation of Birmingham city centre, completing the city’s all-encompassing retail picture.
“I’m extremely proud to have achieved this exciting milestone today with the unveiling of the Urban Room. Alongside Everyman and the canalside restaurants and bars, it will provide a fantastic feature for Mailbox customers, office staff, residents and hotel guests to enjoy.”
Paul Hanegraaf, Creative Navigator at development partner, Milligan, said, “The Urban Room forms the centrepiece of the Mailbox’s customer experience, creating a brand new, elegant space. It was very clear from our focus groups that the Birmingham shopper wanted the Mailbox to retain its unique and exclusive status and so this very much forms part of our central strategy.
Hanegraaf continued, “From 2016 this experience will be further enhanced with exciting new stores as well as our integrated smart technology which will enable us to deliver a superior customer experience every time people visit us whether they are shopping, dining, staying or working.”
Castle Fine Art has opened a new gallery specialising in original and hand signed limited edition works, alongside exclusive pop-up stores from premium male fashion brand East Club and designer children’s boutique, Cloudo Kids. They join established names including Toni & Guy, Nicky Clarke and the destination’s popular bars, restaurants and hotels.
Melanie Taylor, Head of Leasing at Milligan added, “The basket of premium and luxury brands that we have curated for the Mailbox reflects exactly what our customers told us they wanted to see: everything from international names to independents. With a strong line-up of names for shoppers to enjoy today, and more retail and leisure brands to unveil in the New Year, we will continue to add to the basket and increase the power of the Mailbox as the sought-after shopping and lifestyle destination in Birmingham.”
The unveiling of the Urban Room marks the start of a weekend of events to celebrate a new era for the Mailbox and the huge physical transformation of the space. Inspired by the creative campaignLife Made Beautiful, the weekend will feature specially commissioned dance from acclaimed choreographer, Rosie Kay, live musical performances from Birmingham Conservatoire and 100 Beautiful Moments set to surprise shoppers.
Running throughout Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th October, the Mailbox Sessions will showcase the very best of the Mailbox from fashion and style to interactive cocktail and canapé demonstrations.
A pop up exhibition in conjunction with Birmingham Royal Ballet features portraits from celebrated photographer, Marta Kochanek, alongside a display of stunning photography from A level students at Solihull School.
Source: Sixtynine Degrees
