White Rose Leeds: Fashion retailer Joe Browns officially opens first store in shopping centre

Joe Browns, the Leeds-based fashion brand, opened the doors to its first store in White Rose Shopping Centre on December 2.

Founder Simon Brown cut the ribbon and welcomed the first customers with a glass of bubbly and a gift bag.

At the ceremony, Simon said: “It’s really quite a remarkable milestone, to be opening a store in the city where it all started, in our 25 years of business.

“I want to thank all members of the team, from our store staff here with us now, to everyone back at our head office, from the merchandising department to the warehouse. It's been a real team effort by the whole Joe Browns family and I’m extremely proud.”

Tracey Hepton, marketing director at Joe Browns, said: “It felt incredibly special to open a store in our hometown and welcome the first customers through the door. The White Rose Shopping Centre is a fantastic location to showcase the very best we have to offer in fashion and home.”

The Leeds White Rose store has 400 lines across womenswear, menswear, and home. The new store, previously occupied by Paperchase, has also created 14 new jobs.

Simon was joined at the store by Jo Carter, an NHS worker from Leeds. The brand had issued a call for a remarkable person who always goes that extra mile to help others and was also named Joe.

Jo was nominated by her sister-in-law, Carolyn Gardner, and received a Joe Browns gift voucher as a thank you.

The Leeds store marks an exciting next chapter for the brand. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, it announced earlier this year expansion plans and is currently searching for sites for another nine new stores across the UK.