Norwich centre rebrands from Castle Mall with a new name and a renewed focus on leisure
The official launch of Norwich’s Castle Mall as Castle Quarter has proven a success with footfall increasing throughout the centre and a range of new tenants opening and coming soon.
The rebrand and relaunch comes on the back of 18 months of strategic planning, with a vision for the new Castle Quarter in the heart of Norwich built around insight and knowledge gained from analysing the views of a wide cross section of shoppers. Since the launch, Castle Quarter has seen double digit growth year on year and is significantly ahead of the national average footfall.
The 370,000 sq ft Castle Quarter has attracted new tenants including a 16,000 sq ft PureGym, and Superbowl UK, the expanding ten pin bowling operator, which offers a range of facilities including bowling, laser quest, ninja assault courses, Crazy Club Soft Play and a Sega Prize Zone. The centre is also in discussions with two further leisure operators.
Other new tenants include Retro Replay, a retro gaming arcade and Moya, an East Asian bubble tea house and Japanese bakery. The centre also has a number of community initiatives, including a free ‘Sharing Office’ for local charities and community groups, ‘Kastle Kids’ children’s entertainment club and ‘Made in Norwich’, a free pop up retail space for Norwich based micro retail businesses.
Centre manager, Rob Bradley, said: “Castle Quarter is the embodiment of a path of evolution both in terms of what it physically is as a product and how it is perceived. This is the start of a journey that will build momentum as the sum of the parts come together in the coming months and years.
“By understanding today’s retail challenges, Castle Quarter is re-positioning itself by increasing the number and range of outlets, being more relevant to today’s shopper and consumer and creating a strong position in the local market.
The response to the rebrand and the change away from a purely retail and restaurant destination to a leisure focussed place to shop, dine, watch and play has been excellent from visitors to the centre and our tenants. The leisure operators we have in Castle Quarter now are attracting thousands of additional visits every week, which in turn is increasing footfall throughout the centre and throughout the day and evening, with the Vue cinema being open until 1.00 a.m. and PureGym being a 24/7 operation.”
