Jules B clothing store set to expand

Mar 12 2009 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal

A CLOTHING store which has dressed well-heeled Northeasterners for the last 25 years, is to expand into a new 10,000 sq ft warehouse and take on a team of digital staff after enjoying soaring global internet sales.

Over the last three decades, Newcastle’s high-end fashion brand Jules B has spread its presence across the region, opening up eight stores throughout the North.

However, thanks to a rapid growth in online sales this year, the Jesmond company is now keeping trend-setters as far away as Australia, Japan and Singapore in style.

The firm is run by husband and wife team Julian and Rhona Blades, who expect to bring in an extra £1m in turnover this year on the back of its flourishing online business.

Last April the company launched a new website, which has also fuelled a planned move this summer into a 10,000 sq ft warehouse in Sandyford, Newcastle. As well as housing stock, it will eventually be home to an expanding digital workforce which will include specialist photographers and graphic designers.

Marketing and e-commerce manager John Alston believes the firm can now compete with any larger national fashion chain thanks to its growing web presence.

He says: “The online sales have been fantastic. The build-up towards Christmas was good and then in January we doubled what we did in the run-up to Christmas.

“It’s as if we can be up there on a London high street next door to Harrods or Selfridges, but if you look at Harrods, they don’t have much online at all so we are able to compete with them.”

Mr Blades said the company is hoping to recruit around 10 people to man its growing digital division. He also said the group’s high street stores had continued to trade well despite dire conditions in the retail sector which have seen the collapse of a number of high-profile brands.

“Our internet sales are a bright light in a darkening tunnel. The whole face of retailing is changing and we realised that people were still shopping at home so we thought e-commerce was the right way to go.

“95% of the people that buy online on our website are not regular customers to our shops so it’s creating an awareness of our retail business and we are benefiting from it.” Jules B re-vamped its website with the help of Stockton-based e-commerce consultant Visualsoft.