A new store has opened up at the Bullring - taking over the unit previously occupied by New Look. Footasylum has increased its presence in the Birmingham city centre shopping centre by opening in a much bigger unit than before, on the lower mall.

The new store is the latest to use Footasylum's new design concept, which was first launched at Essex's Lakeside earlier this year and the company's new flagship store on Oxford Street. It uses advanced digital capabilities to create a mobile-first customer journey that seamlessly connects Footasylum's online and in-store offering.

The new Bullring store is spread across more than 11,000 square foot and has an extensive men's and junior offering across apparel and footwear. While the dedicated basement floor is exclusively women's apparel and footwear.

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Footasylum previously occupied a smaller 2,500 square foot site in the Bullring. In moving to the site that is four times larger, the store has employed an additional 40 members of staff, taking the store's total number of staff to nearly 80.

Footasylum has also recently opened a new store in Atria Shopping Centre in Watford, and will be opened an upsized store in Fosse Park, Leicester, soon.

Footasylum has opened a much bigger store inside the Bullring
Footasylum has opened a much bigger store inside the Bullring

Barry Bown, executive chairman and CEO of Footasylum, said: "2023 has been a transformational year for Footasylum, and these latest openings are further testament to our team’s amazing ability to deliver state-of-the-art stores for our customers across the country. They take our tally for 2023 to six openings or upsizings, with more to come next year.

"Our expansion strategy has seen us enter a number of prime locations across the UK including Oxford Street, Europe’s most popular shopping destination, where our 20,000 square foot flagship store is performing strongly since it opened in September. Our aim is for our unique and extensive branded streetwear offering to be widely available across the country, and having bigger and better stores is a key part of that ambition.

"There has been a notable increase in customers looking for women’s apparel and trainers, which our bigger stores perfectly cater for. A key part of our strategy is to ensure that customers are provided with a mobile-first buying journey, which effortlessly connects our immersive store experience with our industry-leading website and app.

The store has two floors dedicated to men's, women's and junior apparel and footwear
The store has two floors dedicated to men's, women's and junior apparel and footwear

"With our new and improved store network, we are well positioned to meet the strong and growing demand for our branded streetwear. We are looking forward to a successful Black Friday and Christmas trading period and announcing more exciting Footasylum developments in 2024."

Dan Murphy, general manager at Bullring & Grand Central, added: "We are always looking at how we can support the growth of our retailers and ensure their retail space is suited to customers’ needs. The significant upscaling of Footasylum’s store within Bullring & Grand Central is a prime example of this and we look forward to welcoming customers to explore the new space."