Enduring partnerships between Michael Laing, OBE, and his team with leading Swiss watchmakers has been the foundation of success for the Laing the Jeweller empire.
The company recently announced it will be dropping the name of Parkhouse Jewellery, which has been used instead of Laing the Jeweller above the door in Hampshire and Cardiff stores.
The Parkhouse stores will be re-branded with the Laing logo and brand store interior reflecting a bolder, more contemporary yet timeless identity. The re-brand will also coincide with refurbishment of the existing Parkhouse store in Cardiff and marks an exciting move for the Hampshire store from Above Bar to a more luxury store in the West Quay shopping centre, which is also much more accessible.
“The evolution of the business has been about creating an incredible experience for the customer and working with world renowned luxury brands to develop strong, successful relationships. We partner with brands such as Rolex to create beautiful installations in-store that reflect their brand identity and ensure synergy with our own Laing brand,” said Charlotte Farish, head of marketing for Laing the Jeweller.
“It’s important that we do simultaneously retain our own brand identity whilst accommodating the individual requirements of these exclusive brands to avoid a ‘patch-work’ look to the stores. This is cleverly done to ensure there’s a flow through the store by incorporating sumptuous interiors based on neutral colour palettes with contemporary details and state of the art technology that’s consistent across all of our stores.”
Chairman Michael Laing OBE, adds: “The re-brand is a positive step for Laing as it takes us onto a national platform as one brand. There are multiple reasons as to why we have made this decision; in the main we need to optimise the brand for future growth and ensure that it is a true reflection of our business. This isn’t just a question of making change for changes sake this decision signifies a new chapter.
“One brand under the Laing family will also allow our sales team and customers to identify better with the brand and it will enable our expertise and design credentials to do the talking.”
As a sixth generation jewellers, with a history dating back over 177 years, the company has built an enviable reputation in Scotland and owned the Parkhouse businesses for over 22 years.
Parkhouse shares a similar rich history to Laing the Jewellers, so the rebrand is simply a name change, a store move for Hampshire and a refurbishment of our Cardiff store.
“We now believe the time is right to position LAING nationally and we will be undertaking refurbishment work to our Cardiff store,” continues Laing. “We’re also delighted to announce plans to move our Southampton store to a beautiful new location in September. This will bring these stores in line with our magnificent £1.7m flagship Laing store in Edinburgh, which our customers love. I’m extremely excited about the development of the LAING brand and welcome the opportunities it now opens up for our future growth, a more uniform approach for the business through our stores as well as all above and below the line communications.”
