Californian “baby boomer” fashion is surfing into Bristol this month, as West Coast fashion chain Old Guys Rule moves into Broadmead’s most historic shopping arcade.
Old Guys Rule started life in 2002 and their leisure clothing and quirky accessories quickly caught the mood of the baby boom surfers aged 40 to 65: the brand is now a massive success in the USA, selling through hundreds of speciality chain and lifestyle stores. They moved into the UK in 2008 and now have 12 stores across the UK, with the latest opening at 1-4 St James Arcade, Broadmead, Bristol.
The store they will occupy is one of Bristol’s very oldest shops, dating back almost 200 years and a Grade II listed building designed by local architects James Foster and Sons in 1824-25. It was modelled on Burlington Arcade in London and, at the time, was only the second shopping arcade to be built in the UK. St James Arcade has a special place in the history of Bristol as one of the few parts of the old Broadmead to survive the Blitz relatively intact.
“It’s not only a character building, but also a prime location,” says Stuart Williams, director of joint letting agents Williams Gunter Hardwick, “and Old Guys Rule taking this space is a great fashion addition to one of the prime retail pitches in Broadmead.”
The units taken by Old Guys Rule have five floors, including some 1,234 sq ft of sales space on the ground floor. They are the units fronting the prime Broadmead end of the historic 600 foot arcade, immediately adjacent to Accessorize, close to Marks & Spencer and opposite Boots and the Greyhound Walk entrance to the Galleries shopping centre.
Williams Gunter Hardwick are joint agents with Cardiff based Oscar Clarke for the Arcade, where only one sizable unit remains unspoken for: Units 6/7, totalling 1800 sq ft of sales space over two floors. Angermann Goddard & Loyd acted on behalf of Old Guys Rule.
