Stratford lifestyle store Bonds gets £100,000 makeover

A LIFESTYLE store is open again after a £100,000 makeover during lockdown.

Bonds Lifestyle in Evesham Road was transformed by owners Richard and Zoe Biggs, including refurbishing the upstairs shop floor, rebranding the café as a Mediterranean Bonds Brasserie, and adding a yurt, igloos and a pergola.

Richard said: “We have been closed for seven of the last 12 months during the pandemic, which has been really difficult, but we have concentrated our energies on the business.

“The upstairs section was in need of some love and attention. We have put on a new roof, installed new electrics with specialist retail lighting and it no longer has different cubicles of concessions – it is now completely open-plan.”

“Our model is a mix of old and new, with an emphasis on the unique and the inspiring, from Scandinavian boho interiors to decorative vintage items. It looks like a London store with black ceilings and white floors so it has had a complete overhaul.

“We have refreshed our brasserie and we will be increasing the menu options in the next few weeks. Before the pandemic, it was often fully booked so we wanted to create an area where shoppers could pop in for coffee and cake which is why we have built a yurt.

“We also have brand new toilets and they are like a London hotel with black ceilings and walls and cool lighting.”

Richard said the support of Jim Clark from the CWLEP Growth Hub had been invaluable.

He added: “The Growth Hub has been utterly fantastic. Jim has been a rock from start to finish. He has been on the end of a phone at all times of the day and night because there have been some real lows in the last 12 months and he has always offered words of encouragement and advice which has helped me to think more clearly.

Jim said: “Throughout Covid-19, my job has been as much about listening to the worries of business owners as it has been about providing practical help and at the growth hub we are here for companies whatever their circumstances.”