With the sun shining over the May Bank Holiday weekend, the good weather was just what gift and home shop Brocante needed to encourage footfall to its brand new outlet in St. Ives, Cornwall.
The retailer, which already has outlets in Fowey and Mevagissey, had opted for a soft opening at the end of April. “It was very low key,” explained co-owner Kieron Cockley. “We didn’t want the pressure of a grand opening as, in our experience, it’s better to get on with the job and, hopefully, impress people with your beautiful products and service.”
In fact, Brocante has already done much to impress, as testified by being in the finals of The Greats 2018 gift retailer awards, where the shop is a finalist in the Independent Gift Retailer of the Year South West category.
Keiron says that the reaction to the new store has been very positive. “It’s been absolutely brilliant,” he enthuses. “Moving out of your comfort zone is always nerve racking, but we couldn’t have received more support, and we intend to work as hard as we can to build our brand. With Fowey and Mevagissey working well for us over the past few years, if we weren’t optimistic we wouldn’t have made the leap.”
He points out that St Ives fits in well with the Brocante coastal store format. “A business friend suggested we look at what we do well and replicate it. And what we have been good at is managing a seasonal business in holiday locations. St Ives is buzzing and we were thrilled with the opportunity.
“The biggest issue we had was making sure we didn’t try to change the wheel,” Keiron adds. “Our combination of home and gift products is a working formula for us, and we have been adamant in carrying this offer into St. Ives.”
Above: Brocante’s new shop in St Ives, Cornwall. Shown are owners David Lorimer (left) and Keiron Cockley.
