Midland Stores Suffers Against Bullring Stampede

Retailers are reporting strong sales at Birmingham's newly opened Bullring, but at the cost of less buoyant sales at other branches.

Peter Davies, chief executive of Rubicon, which owns Warehouse and Principles, said that sales at the Warehouse store in the city's High Street had fallen, while its concession within Selfridges and its standalone store in the Bullring were both trading well.

Carl Lester, owner of designer label boutique Autograph, located in Ethel Street in the town centre said: "As we've been established 16 years, we've managed to hold on to our loyal customer base, but what we have lost is the young lad who might buy a GBP40 t-shirt and could be our higher spender of the future. He's now more likely to head to Selfridges in the Bullring, which is a shame."

While the department stores seem to be trading well, it is the smaller independents who are less enthusiastic. The Bullring has brought out of the woodwork a trendier Midland's shopper, who didn't shop in Birmingham before. While the new centre may have a better fashion selection on offer, shoppers are less keen to look elsewhere.