Indie retailer favourite Jellycat has opened its own concept store in Birmingham’s Bullring that’s being fanfared as the largest space for the plush collectables in the UK.
As the privately-owned company celebrates its 25th anniversary, Friday, 15 November, saw the new Jellycat General Store unveiled inside Selfridges department store at The Bullring in Birmingham and long queues formed as fans flocked to see the latest offers.
Founded by brothers William – who retired as a director in January 2023 – and Thomas Gatacre in London in 1999, the business now has Arnaud Meysselle as CEO, having been appointed as a director in January 2022.
Arnaud signed off the recent filing at Companies House which showed the owners are set for a £58million payday as demand for the soft toys saw the company’s revenues rise 37% to £200m.
There are eight dedicated areas within Selfridges, across a wide range of imaginative plush, books and accessories, as the cult brand continues go from strength to strength, helped by social media platforms, especially TikTok and Instagram.
The company – a favourite of Princess Charlotte, who was photographed with Jellycat’s Fuddlewuddle Puppy as a baby – hit the headlines at the beginning of September when it accused Aldi of copying one of the company’s bestsellers, Dexter The Dragon.
Having grown the Jellycat business over the past quarter century through employing a network of UK sales agents, with independent gift retailers among the brand’s devoted stockists, the company took the decision to implement a strategic shift in its sales operations earlier this year and decided to bring its sales team in-house as part of its broader business strategy.
The launch featured on the Shopping In Birmingham Facebook page, where a number of comments extolled the virtues of buying from independent retailers, with one saying: “We visited yesterday and was very underwhelmed. The experience itself was lovely, however, I have seen a better selection of Jellycats in an independent store.” Another highlighted that Smart Ideas has a better selection.
