Stone High Street staple BEAR were voted as winners of the Re:tale Category at the prestigious Revo Gold Awards last week, beating big names such as Ikea & Primark.
On Wednesday 5th December, some of the most influential & inspirational names across the retail & placemaking sector – including intu, John Lewis and BoxPark – came together to join BEAR in celebrating the success of all who had been shortlisted at a black-tie event hosted by Revo at the JW Marriott, in Mayfair, Central London.
The independent coffee brand were up against some huge industry names such as Primark, IKEA and JD Sports. BEAR were shortlisted for the Re:tale award for their recent strategic partnership with intu shopping centre, after being approached by the retail giants to open a store inside their Derby mall.
The experience has clearly been quite humbling for Co-Founder, Craig Bunting: “We’re inconceivably proud to not only be recognised for such a prestigious award but to actually win against such frontrunners in the retail industry. It feels surreal but also like a huge leap forward for BEAR and for the whole indie business community.
We founded BEAR with the absolute desire to become a UK challenger brand by delivering an exceptional product inside beautiful spaces that feel like home, served by a team that are passionate about what they do. Our recent partnership with global fashion retailer, Jack Wills, and our offering at intu Derby sees us punching well above our weight! This excites us because we’ve been invited to be at the forefront of a growing change in the retail landscape. Above all, we are committed to the authenticity of our spaces, teams and products; through our partnership with intu, we wanted to focus on bringing that familiar, comforting high street character to what can sometimes feel like quite a stark shopping experience.
We are thankful that many bigger companies are now taking a pro-active approach to support brands of the future, whilst ensuring that it also creates shopping destinations that consumers desire.”
BEAR operate as a counter-service coffee house, kitchen and bar from their Stone and three other Midlands-based stores, serving the region’s favourite speciality coffee, brunch and cocktails and offering an inclusive space to relax. The Stone branch opened in November 2018, after their first branch in Uttoxeter became a quick success, and have gone on to expand with three more locations, two in Derby and and an additional central London concept which was launched in partnership with Jack Wills.
BEAR were put forward for the award by their London-based design and architecture firm, turnerbates. John Turner, Co-Founder of turnerbates, explained why they felt BEAR were so deserving of a nomination:
“We put forward BEAR for the Revo Gold Award as we believe that they are not only an innovative, up-and coming high street brand with a unique offer, but they continually connect with their site location and collaborate with its surrounding community, in this case within Derby City and the intu centre.”
Statistics show that approximately 55 million cups of coffee per day are consumed in the UK alone, so the collaboration between BEAR and their retail-focused partners will only continue to bring a fresh experience into stores that will help them meet the changes of modern consumers’ shopping habits and the ever-evolving high street.*
BEAR is working to expand throughout the Midlands and beyond, with plans to open further sites nationwide and grow a high quality, responsible brand with positive financial results.
