Lakeland Leather is getting a new look and is offering free parking to celebrate

Lakeland Leather is getting a new look and is offering free parking to celebrate

It’s not every day you get a rebrand so when plans were announced at Lakeland Leather’s Chester store, staff decided to spread the joy with an incentive for its customers.

Staff will reimburse customers £5 on a spend of £30 or more to help pay for parking, so they can pop in when work has finished to see for themselves how fresh and inviting the store is looking without worrying about the cost of parking.

The brand has been a fixture in Chester since the 1950s and used to be in Bridge Street before moving to its present location in Eastgate Row South just under six years ago.

Chester is the first of the Lakeland Leather shops to be rebranded. The shop’s fresh, new look will include new artwork, a re-paint, and a new coffee area upstairs.  There will also be a feature wall in the changing room downstairs.

Manager Dianne outside Lakeland Leather Chester

Manager Dianne outside Lakeland Leather Chester

Dianne is the new manager at Lakeland Leather Chester but she’s no stranger to the store, having working for 19 years in the city, starting in sales and working her way up to her current job. She welcomed the changes.

“It’s very exciting with the rebranding and the arrival of a new coffee machine,” she said. “The coffee is an incentive for customers to come up on the row, stay and have a good look around and see what we’re about.

“We want to encourage people to come back to Lakeland after the pandemic and give them the service they deserve.”

Artwork will be installed in the upstairs window so potential customers in Northgate Street will be able to spot it when they look up.

“We’re going to flip the shop too, so it will be half and half – half the ladies and menswear downstairs, half upstairs,” Dianne  added.

While Lakeland  also stocks clothing from the likes of Crew, Lily & Me, Saloos and a small selection of Lotus shoes, it is still a leather specialist with its own range of leather handbags, jackets, sheepskins and slippers. Though if you think you know exactly the type of leathers it sells, think again. Alongside the classics, designs will change to reflect current fashion.

“We have some new people working with head office at the moment so there are leathers coming through which are great quality and fit,” said Dianne.

“A lot of people are coming in and are surprised at the quality of the stock – so we’re doing something right.”

  • Lakeland Leather is at 8-10 Eastgate Row South, Chester CH1 1LF. Tel: 01244 310411
  • The parking incentive starts from Monday 27th June and runs until 30th September
  • Lakelandleather.co.uk