Local independent retailer The Brogue Trader is heading north to Leeds and Edinburgh, following commercial property acquisitions in the cities.
The award-winning retailer has acquired a 404 sq ft property located in Victoria Quarter, Leeds, and a 760 sq ft property in Frederick St, Edinburgh, thanks to support from Cardiff-based retail and leisure specialist EJ Hales.
EJ Hales has worked with the specialist retailer from the offset, letting its first store in Cardiff’s Morgan Arcade in 2013.
This small store and the company has gone from strength to strength, selling top quality footwear brands including Joseph Cheaney, Crockett & Jones, Herring, and Loake.
Following the success of the Cardiff store, The Brogue Trader partnered with Loake Shoemakers to grow a chain of Loake stores in major cities across the UK.
In addition to the new Leeds and Edinburgh premises, EJ Hales has acquired stores for the partnership in Chester (January 2015) and Bath (July 2015), with both stores demonstrating high volumes of trading.
Chris McNamara, managing director of The Brogue Trader, said: “We are delighted with the sites EJ Hales has found for us to date, are looking forward to working with them again to find new stores. We take a unique approach when opening new stores as we like to engage heavily with local communities.”
The Brogue Trader currently sponsor the Cardiff Blues and is also the formal footwear supplier to Bath Rugby and Wales national squads for rugby and football.
Robert Hales of EJ Hales commented: “The skill of identifying suitable locations for different clients is very much understanding their business model and their needs.
“With The Brogue Trader and Loake, it is a case of seeking out niche, high profile retail locations, where likeminded, particularly menswear, retailers are located rather than merely seeking the high footfall locations. Understanding the difference is key to finding successful sites.”
The Brogue Trader has won several awards including Retail Entrepreneur of the Year at the Wales Entrepreneur Awards 2016, Retailer of the Year 2015 at the Cardiff Life Awards and New Independent Footwear Retailer of the Year in the Footwear Industry Awards 2015.