The centre, which was part of the £200 million Paragon square redevelopment, has this quarter seen a raft of new retailers with the opening of 24 hour gym, Fit 24, big label, fashion store Cult and Hull’s only Burger King, which makes a welcome return to the city after several years. These will be joined by the exciting Red House Brassiere which will open in August.
As a result, the 52,000 square metre premiere shopping centre has seen an influx in footfall, a real success story for the centre at a time when the UK has seen a number of other retail outlets struggling to stay afloat in the current economic climate.
Jim Harris, Centre Manager at St Stephen’s, said: "It is such great news that Hull finally has the shopping centre it deserves. The centre has a great mix of shops and leisure facilities, from Topshop and Tesco to Reel Cinema and Italian restaurant, Prezzo, which are all bringing in shoppers from across the region. With the opening of the new units we are expecting to see footfall figures rise even further."
The fast food giant Burger King has this month returned to Hull after years without a presence in the city centre. Featuring the new 20/20 design, the restaurant is a fresh and contemporary take on the classic American diner, offering nearly 50 covers.
SuperGroup’s Cult store has also recently opened its doors in the centre, taking one of the biggest units in St Stephen’s which stands at nearly 10,000 square feet, one of the biggest in the region. A strong music policy is part of unique selling strategy, particularly attracting young shoppers.
East Yorkshire's first 24 hour gym recently opened to the public in St Stephen’s. Fit 24 is expected to bring a whole new clientele into the centre. The state of the art gym has been fitted out with the best equipment on the market from Technogym, and is beating off competitors by offering specialist classes such as the Latin-American dance, Zumba and being located only a few paces from the main St Stephens car parks. Offering great service and really good value for money with monthly memberships starting at just £22.99, Fit 24 expects to have 3000 members on the books before the end of the year.
There have been other additions to the St Stephen’s this year, for example, the newly opened toy store, The Entertainer, rolling out a new concept focusing on customer service to increase sales. They aim to make the store very interactive and offer demonstrations on a number of the toys and games on sale.
Beautiful styling for all the body; The Hairdresser is now offering beauty treatments and hair styling in its two classy and well equipped salon’s in the centre of the Street. Having recently added the first floor unit above the salon, The Hairdresser is now offering Champagne Manicures, lash extensions and eyebrow threading which is bringing Hull’s chic clique into St Stephen’s.
Hull City Centre Manager Kathryn Shillito welcomed the store openings saying: "St Stephen’s has grown impressively over the last 2 years and is now a key retail offering in the city centre, attracting significant additional footfall to the city and raising its profile."
For more information on St Stephen’s and news on store openings, please visit the website: www.ststephens-hull.com
