High Street hero: Solihull shopping centre celebrates retail boom

The West Midlands has lost so many high street brands - with 1,468 chain stores closing permanently in 2020.

But the doom and gloom on the high street hasn’t reached Touchwood shopping centre in Solihull which is happily bucking the doom and gloom trend.

As it celebrates its 20th anniversary, the destination has seen visitor levels up 80% on pre-pandemic levels.

It’s great news for the local economy with jobs being saved and created - and brilliant news for the local community which thrives in a busy town centre and everyone who still loves to shop in a physical store.

BirminghamWorld visited Touchwood to find out the secret of its success.

Five things to know about Touchwood Shopping centre in Solihull

The Queen officially opened Touchwood on 2 July in 2002, although the shopping centre actually opened to the public in September 2001.

Touchwood is home to some of the best know retail brands in Britain, including John Lewis, H&M, Hollister, JD Sports, Superdry and The Entertainer.

It also has a popular range of hospitality venues including Asha’s, Five Guys, Fridays, Jamaya, Joe the Juice and Nando’s.

Touchwood has its own dedicated car park which includes electric car charging points, motorcycle parking and cycle parking. Full charges are available on the website.

It is also home to Core Theatre Solihull which has a range of shows on for all the family.

What is the secret of Touchwood shopping centre’s success?

General Manager Tony Elvin said: “Twenty years is a fantastic milestone for a shopping centre.

“We know the challenges that retail and hospitality have been through, but it’s brilliant that Touchwood is still so vibrant.

“Retail is changing. I think if you want to be a relevant shopping centre you need to move with the times.

“So it’s how do you harness the power of online? How do you give people more reasons to  come to Touchwood? Because we know that once they’re actually here, it’s more convenient to purchase from a physical store.

“It’s about driving visits, it’s about making it easy for people to click and collect, to bring back their returns.

Tony added that partnerships with organisations such as the local council, police and Solihull BID have also been key to the centre’s continuing success.

Customer service is also of prime importance, and one man who’s been providing that almost since the destination opened its doors in 2001 is Rowland.

He said: “Over the last 18 months it’s been difficult, however we seem to have overcome that now. Everything is opening up and it’s been fantastic working with all the retailers as well as all the Touchwood colleagues.”

What is it really like to shop at Touchwood?

With the pandemic keeping many of us at home in 2020, 87% of households made online purchases. So why are shoppers still coming to Touchwood.

One local said; “I was born and raised in Solihull, so it’s great to be with same kind of people. Everyone’s friendly, it’s not too kind of hectic. But there’s lots of variety too.”

A mum said: “So it’s nice to come and have a mooch around and see what’s going on, hit the sales - and have a coffee and catch up before the kids come home.

A final word from Tony….

Tony Elvin added: “Touchwood is going to be here for another 20 years. It’s going to keep on evolving and changing. And we’re grateful of your support to help us to do that.”

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