Joules set to reopen in Stratford in September
WOMEN’S fashion brand Joules is coming back to Stratford and already recruiting.
The national retailer’s return is being seen as ‘positive’ news and a welcome contrast to five months ago when Joules, Jack Wills, Body Shop and Fraser Hart all announced within weeks of each other they were leaving.
Joules, known for its country lifestyle clothing featuring stripes and florals, opened a branch in the High Street in 2016.
The Herald understands it will return to the same unit as before, after negotiating a leasehold deal with agents.
The store’s expected to re-open in September and management is already taking on staff.
With Gail’s Bakery planning to move into the old Jack Wills unit, retail and property experts say the return of Joules is another good sign.
Tim Cox, chartered surveyor and commercial property expert of Tim Cox Associates, said: “The market’s doing alright and Stratford seems to be holding up.
“Stratford always does quite well and now that interest rates have topped and are starting to come down, national retailers feel they can budget a lot more clearly than when the market is unstable.
“It’s a positive sign that the nationals are coming back into the town.”
Joules, which offers women’s, men’s and children’s clothing, was founded in 1989 by Tom Joule who began selling off a stall at a country show in Leicestershire.
It was floated on the stock exchange in 2016 and valued at £140 million.
But after collapsing into administration in November 2022, it was bought by Next in December 2022 which paid £34 million for the business and £7 million for its Leicestershire head office building.
Next owns 74% of the business, while Tom Joule and wife Alice own the remaining 26%.
The couple returned to run Joules last year, having stepped back for three years.
A spokesperson for Joules said: “xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
