BRIDAL SHOP COMMITS TO UNIT

The owner of a bridal shop has committed herself to a new business lease, after taking a unit at a thriving retail parade in the West Midlands.

Michelle Proffitt, owner of M&J Wedding Studio, has secured a three-year lease on a 2,000 sq ft retail unit at Anchor Parade in Aldridge.

After previously running a wedding decorations business from her home in nearby Pelsall, Michelle took the plunge and branched out into selling bridalwear, wedding suits and prom outfits.

Anchor Parade – owned and managed by London & Cambridge Properties (LCP) – has 35 stores and a market hall around a square. It has a wide range of high street shops, including Boots, Home Bargains and Iceland, alongside some independent retailers. Convenient free parking is provided in the centre’s own roof top car park.

LCP's retail asset manager Jo Salmon said: “We are delighted that Michelle chose the Anchor Parade for her new venture and wish her every success.

“The parade is easily accessible by public transport and £250,000 has been invested in improving car parking and upgrading the central square, which is really paying dividends. Business owners and shoppers seem to be happy with it and that is reflected in the success of the retail scheme.”

Michelle said: “We already had a successful business that sold items such as wedding decorations and invites, but we wanted to expand into bridalwear so it was important we had a premises that was big enough to store and display the gowns, as well as provide fitting rooms for customers to try them on.

“The unit is located at the front of the parade next to Francesco Group so we get a lot of passing motor trade as well as people on foot.

“The location of the shop was really important and we did lots of research across the West Midlands before deciding the parade would be ideal.

“The great thing about Anchor Parade is that it has all kinds of shops and it is a popular shopping destination with the locals. Aldridge is also pretty central to places like Walsall, Pelsall, Sutton, Cannock and Four Oaks and people will certainly travel to find the right wedding dress.”