Clarks Village

Traditional paved walkways and village setting with shops down either side.

Clarks Village is a designer outlet shopping centre in Street in the English county of Somerset. The centre includes more than 90 high street and designer shops, mostly selling goods at discounted prices. There are also numerous coffee shops and a restaurant terrace including a number of well-known restaurants and fast food chains, such as Pret a Manger, Prezzo, Frankie & Benny's and Burger King [1] The Burger King was scheduled for closure after it was ranked the worst restaurant in Somerset in April 2015 [2]

Clarks Village is sited in the redundant factory buildings of C&J Clark which was established in Street during the 19th century when Cyrus Clark started a business in sheepskin rugs, later joined by his brother James, who introduced the production of woollen slippers and, later, boots and shoes.[3] but shoes are no longer manufactured there.

The site is owned by the Hermes Real Estate group and managed by REALM Ltd,[1] who also manage a number of other outlet centres in the United Kingdom.

In September 2013, a new centre manager Geoffrey Nidd took charge[4] and introduced a series of changes which attracted widespread condemnation of the local community, village tenants and shoppers.[5] These included the relocation of a landmark sculpture,[6] increasing car parking charges,[7] changing the centre's opening hours often with no publicity or warning.[5][8] The village tenants reported falling visitor numbers[9] and many popular landmarks stores, including Nike, Addidas, Prices Candles, FatFace, Lacoste and Starbucks have left the village - being replaced by more expensive designer stores. By the end of 2014 a record-breaking 9 new high-end stores had replaced these stores (more than any other year in Clarks Village's trading history), including Musto, Seasalt, Lindt, The Cosmetics Company, Pizza Express, Jane Clayton & Co., Raging Bull, Ernest Jones and a Ben Sherman pop-up store.[10]

In August 2014, Clarks Village commissioned what they described as the World's Largest Topiary Shoe was on display for six months,[11] even though the larger 3m Nike Shoe topiary commissioned for the Olympic Games was still in existence [12]

In December 2014, The Coca Cola truck attracted a record-breaking 60,000 visitors to the centre.[13] Expansion is planned in 2015 with a new Superdry store arriving in the shopping outlet in the summer.[14]

Clarks Village selected a local, Glastonbury-based charity Martha Care as its 2015 Charity of the year. The charity collapsed within a year [15]

The Shoe Museum, which is a short distance from Clarks Village,[16] provides a wealth of information about the history of Clarks and footwear manufacture in general,[16] and a selection of shop display showcards from the 1930s, 1950s and 1960s,[17] and television advertisements.[18] The frontage of the shoe museum includes the clock tower and water tower.[19]

References

  1. 1 2 "REALM corporate brochure" (PDF). REALM. p. 11.
  2. ↑ http://www.centralsomersetgazette.co.uk/Street-restaurant-ranked-Somerset-s-worst-set/story-26301955-detail/story.html#GVlbxG2pwbFkUXHE.01
  3. ↑ Scott, Shane (1995). The hidden places of Somerset. Aldermaston: Travel Publishing Ltd. p. 82. ISBN 1-902007-01-8.
  4. ↑ http://www.centralsomersetgazette.co.uk/Street-s-Clarks-Village-flowerbeds-improved/story-19917000-detail/story.html
  5. 1 2 http://www.centralsomersetgazette.co.uk/Clarks-Village-early-closure-sparks-anger/story-21067213-detail/story.html
  6. ↑ http://www.centralsomersetgazette.co.uk/Street-sculptures-Diamond-Steps-moved/story-21079986-detail/story.html
  7. ↑ http://www.centralsomersetgazette.co.uk/Shoppers-Clarks-Village-Street-benefit-rising-car/story-20406109-detail/story.html
  8. ↑ http://www.centralsomersetgazette.co.uk/Concerns-Clarks-Village-change-opening-times/story-20966340-detail/story.html
  9. ↑ http://www.centralsomersetgazette.co.uk/New-opening-hours-Village-awful/story-21097469-detail/story.html
  10. ↑ http://www.centralsomersetgazette.co.uk/Shopping-outlet-opens-doors-major-high-street/story-23192682-detail/story.html
  11. ↑ http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/PHOTO-World-s-largest-topiary-Clarks-Village/story-22915862-detail/story.html
  12. ↑ http://stylebubble.co.uk/style_bubble/2012/08/the-greatest-show.html
  13. ↑ http://www.centralsomersetgazette.co.uk/Record-breaking-60-000-visitors-head-Clarks-Coca/story-25727794-detail/story.html
  14. ↑ http://www.westerngazette.co.uk/Superdry-open-new-store-Somerset/story-25889527-detail/story.html
  15. ↑ http://www.marthacare.org.uk/
  16. 1 2 "Shoe Museum". Information Britain. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  17. ↑ "The Shoe Museum, Street". Nothing to see here. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  18. ↑ "The Shoe Museum". Somerset Tourist Guide. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  19. ↑ "Main roadside frontage to Clarks Factory, Clock Tower, 5 bay right return and Water Tower". Images of England. Retrieved 23 March 2008.

External links

Coordinates: 51°07′42″N 2°44′24″W / 51.128361°N 2.739866°W / 51.128361; -2.739866

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