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Hugh Rice unveils Luxe concept watch and jewellery store

Hugh Rice has added a touch of Luxe to its retail operation with the launch of a new concept store in East Yorkshire.

Luxe by Hugh Rice opened in Beverley’s Saturday Market in time for Christmas trading to complement the family-owned jeweller’s existing premium jewellery and watch store in the market town’s Toll Gavel district.

The new Luxe concept is the work of retail design consultants, Innovare Design. Luxe by Hugh Rice carries watches from Thomas Sabo and Daniel Wellington among others as well as numerous jewellery collections.

Paul Rice, managing director of Hugh Rice, said: “Innovare Design delivered a premium store for us in Harrogate back in 2014 which was well received locally and has been trading strongly. So we asked Innovare to help us with this next critical brand development phase.”

The project took nine month to bring to reality with Crowther Turnbull Booth managing the works on-site carried out by Kerr Interiors and co-ordinating with Innovare Design to ensure that the strict conservation requirements for the Grade II listed building were met.

“The team at Innovare Design led a very creative and collaborative process to help us realise our vision for this new brand extension,” Rice added. “We’ve benefited immensely from their retail expertise and are thrilled with the end result: the new brand and store delivers on every front and trading to-date looks extremely promising”.

Lloyd Blakey, Innovare Design’s creative director,  said: “We needed to stabilise the building and completely rebuild the first floor. We retained all the original beams and architectural features but by painting them out in the new Luxe colour palette we achieved the contemporary look we were after. Indeed these added weight to the new brand’s heritage. Throughout the store, soft warm grey tones are complemented by burnished bronze details and a light oak floor. Smoked mirrored cabinets and leather furnishings add to the overall sense of luxury.  A carefully balanced and integrated lighting design – incorporating windows, shelves and ceilings – achieves optimum focus on key products as well as full visibility in store.”

Innovare Design’s next project will be the refurbishment of Hugh Rice’s existing Beverley store which is scheduled for completion in the spring.

James Buttery

Editor of WatchPro, the WatchPro Hot 100 and The Luxury Report.

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