Shopping: Seventh heaven for Birmingham Bullring

Aug 30 2010 By Emma McKinney

FOR shoppers and the local economy alike, it was a much-needed shot in the arm for Birmingham’s retail sector when Bullring shopping centre first opened its doors to the world’s fashionistas.

Now the iconic centre is set to celebrate its seventh birthday on Saturday (Sept 4) and its bosses are united in the belief that, so far, it has been a resounding success story.

And if you can’t take their word for it, the figures speak for themselves, with the centre attracting almost 267 million shoppers through its doors in the last seven years.

It’s not just Brummies splashing their hard-earned cash at the centre, many celebrities have been spotted indulging in a little retail therapy at the Bullring over the years, including some of the Midland’s home-grown talent such as pop stars Jamelia, Beverley Knight and Ocean Colour Scene.

Singers Duffy, Peter Andre, Myleene Klass, Katherine Jenkins, Coleen Nolan, Gareth Gates, Taio Cruz, JLS and Girls Aloud have also set tills ringing, and other star shoppers include Hollywood’s Miley Cyrus and Helena Bonham Carter, as well as model Lisa Snowdon, fashion gurus Trinny and Susannah and chef Jean Christophe Novelli.

And it’s not only proven a place to shop, with broadcasters queuing up to film TV shows at the centre, including ITV’s This Morning, BBC’s The Hustle and Channel 4’s How to Look Good Naked and Fashion Fix, fronted by stylist and designer Gok Wan.

The flamboyant presenter admits he has a soft spot for both the city and the Bullring.

“Birmingham is just one of the best places to film because Brummies are so good at being noisy and enthusiastic and the Bullring is so iconic it’s a fantastic building to be creative in,” he said. “The crowds at the Bullring are amazing too, they just love to be part of the show.”

He says having the Bullring in Birmingham was helping the city to become a real rival to London.

“Fashion used to be really London-focussed but now, with designers opening stores outside of London in places like the Bullring, that’s no longer the case