Voted one of the best places to live in the UK, the beautiful medieval market town of Beverley in East Yorkshire is the new focus for Hugh Rice and their retail design consultants, Innovare Design.
Luxe by Hugh Rice in Beverley’s vibrant and historic Saturday Market, opened in time for Christmas 2015 and firmly launches this successful family owned jewellers into the luxury lifestyle jewellery sector. This new store complements their existing premium jewellery and watch store in Beverley’s Toll Gavel district.
Hugh Rice Managing Director Paul Rice commented, “Innovare Design delivered a premium store for us in Harrogate back in 2014 which was well received locally and has been trading strongly. So we asked Innovare to help us with this next critical brand development phase.” Paul Rice added, “The team at Innovare Design led a very creative and collaborative process to help us realise our vision for this new brand extension. We’ve benefited immensely from their retail expertise and are thrilled with the end result: the new brand and store delivers on every front and trading to-date looks extremely promising”.
Innovare Design’s Creative Director, Lloyd Blakey, said, “We are thrilled with the success of the Harrogate store and obviously delighted to work with Hugh Rice on this important brand development project in Beverley.”
After an intensive 9 months programme, the result is a great example of teamwork at its best. PR agency Strawberry developed the brand name, while Innovare Design focused on the new brand’s environmental interpretation – the store’s creative concept, design details,
colour palette and material finishes, as well as establishing the brand’s graphic presence.
Crowther Turnbull Booth managed the works on-site (by Kerr Interiors) and worked closely with Innovare’s design team to deliver their creative vision while adhering to the strict conservation requirements for this Grade II listed building.
“This was a major build project in its own right,” said Blakey. “We needed to stabilise the building and completely rebuild the first floor. We retained all the original beams and architectural features but by painting them out in the new Luxe colour palette we achieved the contemporary look we were after. Indeed these added weight to the new brand’s heritage. Throughout the store, soft warm grey tones are complemented by burnished bronze details and a light oak floor. Smoked mirrored cabinets and leather furnishings add to the overall sense of luxury. A carefully balanced and integrated lighting design – incorporating windows, shelves and ceilings – achieves optimum focus on key products as well as full visibility in store.”
Next: Work will start shortly on the refurbishment of Hugh Rice’s existing store in Toll Gavel, Beverley, with completion anticipated in Spring 2016.
More about Hugh Rice: Founded in 1971, Hugh Rice now has eleven stores across Yorkshire. A family-owned jewellers, it employs 200 people and stocks jewellery brands ranging from Pandora, Thomas Sabo and Swarovski to Breitling, Omega and Tag Heuer.
More about Innovare Design: Innovare Design consultants specialise in branded environments for the retail sector. They work collaboratively with clients in the UK, Europe and internationally.
