East Yorkshire-based retailer is to launch in Flemingate after ‘looking at the town for many years’
Jason Platten, left, head of retail and leisure at Wykeland Group, Flemingate’s owner and operator, hands over the keys to the store unit to Mark Johnson, operations and compliance manager at Yorkshire Trading Company(Image: R&R Studio)
Popular retailer Yorkshire Trading Company has announced it is to open at Beverley’s Flemingate centre. The long-established business has committed to a 10,300sq ft store, joining the line-up of national and independent operators at the retail and leisure destination.
Yorkshire Trading Company will occupy one of the largest units at Flemingate, located opposite homewares retailer Dunelm, with the store expected to open in the next few weeks. Yorkshire Trading Company is a multi-generational family business, based in East Yorkshire, with 34 stores in key locations, including York, Ripon, Skipton, Whitby, Knaresborough and Malton.
What began as a humble corner shop in Hull, in 1939, has developed into a growing retail business offering more than 10,000 products, in store and online. Yorkshire Trading Company specialises in a range of household essentials, DIY, clothing, garden products, and toys and games.
Flemingate is already home to a number of leading national retailers and is owned and operated by Hull-based commercial property and regeneration specialist Wykeland Group. It was advised in securing Yorkshire Trading Company by retail property consultants Rawstron Johnson and Pudney Shuttleworth.
Jason Platten, Wykeland’s head of retail and leisure, said: “Yorkshire Trading Company is one of the region’s great high street success stories and we’re delighted to welcome them to Flemingate and Beverley. We’re sure Yorkshire Trading Company will be a very popular addition to Flemingate, driving further footfall to the centre and complementing the existing strong retail and leisure offering.
“Yorkshire Trading Company’s story began in our own home city of Hull and we’re proud to be supporting the company’s continued commitment to the high street and contribution to our region’s economy.” Having opened its first store just before the Second World War, Yorkshire Trading Company’s earliest years were interrupted by the onset of conflict.
It was not until 1954 that the owners of the business, the Nichols family, could return to retail, and lay the foundations which would eventually develop into the successful retailer Yorkshire Trading Company is today. The business is now into the fourth generation of family ownership and employs almost 600 people across its head office and its stores in Yorkshire and surrounding areas, including Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Northumberland.
Yorkshire Trading Company sells a variety of homewares, including everyday cleaning and maintenance products, soft furnishings and decorative items. The retailer also stocks outdoor products, including equestrian and country clothing, garden tools and furniture.
Customers can also find a large toys and games collection, and a full pets range, with Yorkshire Trading Company also specialising in seasonal offerings for celebrations such as Christmas, Halloween, Bonfire Night and New Year. Mark Johnson, operations and compliance manager at Yorkshire Trading Company, said: “Beverley is a location we’ve been looking at for many years.
“It’s a traditional market town, with a strong sense of community – we’ve just been waiting for the right unit, in the right place, to become available. Flemingate gives us exactly that, and we’re now working hard as a team to get the new store ready for opening.
“Beverley complements the other stores we have in the area, from Bridlington and Driffield to the north, down to Louth and Skegness in Lincolnshire. We’re proud to be working closely with local suppliers and contractors on the new Beverley store, underlining our commitment to the local economy and the region in which our business was founded and continues to be based.”
The store opening will create around 25 permanent and part-time roles, with Yorkshire Trading Company currently hiring for the new Beverley team. The addition of Yorkshire Trading Company further strengthens Flemingate’s retail offering, which is complemented by a vibrant food and leisure scene. It recently announced that FORE!, a new indoor golf and entertainment venue, is coming to the centre.