Retail
Birmingham is home to one of the largest shopping centres in the UK, the Bullring. It is also the busiest in the UK attracting 36.5 million visitors in its first year. Birmingham is the most visited retail destination outside London and the retail sector makes up a large proportion of the cities economy.
The city centre currently has four major shopping centres; Bullring, The Mailbox, The Pavilions and The Pallasades, as well as a number of smaller arcades and precincts and four department stores; Selfridges, Debenhams, House of Fraser and Harvey Nichols with John Lewis opening its biggest store outside London in the cities New Street station development in 2014.
The cities designer and high end fashion stores are mostly situated in the up-market Mailbox shopping centre, around the Colmore Row financial district although the Bullring has seen an influx of designer brands such as Hugo Boss, Thomas Sabo, Radley and Armani Exchange.
The city centre also has four markets; The Bullring indoor market, The Birmingham rag market, St Martins outdoor market and the Oasis clothes market.
Read more about this topic: Economy Of Birmingham
Famous quotes containing the word retail:
“A free-enterprise economy depends only on markets, and according to the most advanced mathematical macroeconomic theory, markets depend only on moods: specifically, the mood of the men in the pinstripes, also known as the Boys on the Street. When the Boys are in a good mood, the market thrives; when they get scared or sullen, it is time for each one of us to look into the retail apple business.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)