Urban outfitter Joy to open in Liverpool

Oct 2 2007 by Larry Neild, Liverpool Daily Post

A FASHION chain famed for attracting queues of scantily-clad shoppers is to open a new branch in Liverpool city centre.

Brixton firm Joy, described as an urban outfitter, will open its 25th branch in mid-November in the historic Lyceum building on Bold Street, taking over the area previously used as the post office.

Shopfitters are currently working at the building to prepare the store for its opening.

Joy has attracted publicity by offering free outfits of clothing to the first 25 people in their opening day queues who wear just their underwear.

The growing chain was started by designer Maureen O’Brien and her husband Girish Chadha and boasts a number of A-list celebrity customers, including singer Daniel Beddingfield and Keira Knightley who has worn one of their dresses.

In just eight years the couple have developed a business with a multi-million pound turnover. They seek locations close to busy stations, attracting people going to and from work looking for quirky gifts and stunning clothes.

The Lyceum store, outside Central Station, fits in with O’Brien and Chada’s stategy for locations.

A spokeswoman for Joy said: “We are delighted to be coming to Liverpool with what will be our 25th store.

“We search the world for quality fashions and then buy in small quantities so that customers are unlikely to see other people where the same outfits.

“We regard ourselves as a lifestyle store because as well as clothing and accessories we sell household items, gifts and we are famed for our greeting cards.”

Joy is aimed at the 25-45 age bracket. The Lyceum opened in 1800 as a gentlemen’s club, catering for business people escaping smoke-filled coffee houses and boasted slavery abolitionists among its membership.

larryneild