Wild & Westbrooke to launch new store in Stonegate, York

Wild & Westbrooke will be launching at No. 3 Stonegate in March following the success of its shop in Lendal over the past three years.

The independent business specialises in ladies' country lifestyle clothing, which is practical with a fashionable twist, along with accessories and footwear.

It stocks Fairfax & Favor, Holland Cooper and Dubarry among other brands.

The new venue which was formerly home to Pure Collection and has two sales floors will enable Wild & Westbrooke to increase its range and levels of stock.

Laura Pipes, managing director, currently runs the Lendal shop with her mum Tanya Pipes and fiancé Ollie Stirk, pictured below at the Great Yorskhire Show.

Running a retail business is a major career change for the couple who plan to tie the knot next year, but Laura said they were 'absolutely loving it'.

"I grew up in this industry with my dad as a tailor but this was a change of plan in my mid-twenties," said Laura, 27.

"I was training to be a nurse and went to university and did science. Ollie was in the RAF.

"Then, I was helping my dad with some marketing for his business and I thought there seemed to be a gap in the market in York for these kind of clothes and the brands we sell."

Laura, in the shop in Lendal

Laura said she was loving working for herself.

"When you are 18 and deciding what you want to do, until you have done a job and experienced it, you don't know what it's like."

After six years as an RAF firefighter, Ollie, also 27, joined the business full time in September 2019, with a focus on the online side, having been involved with setting up the venture from the outset.

The couple will lead the Stonegate team, with interviews taking place this week to fill the five new full and part-time roles.

"It's nerve-wracking but exciting," said Laura. "The one on Lendal has done really well especially over the last year. We have always had an eye out for a shop in Stonegate or a more prominent shopping street."

She added: “We just can’t wait to open our new store. We have loved being based in York for the last three years and think that Stonegate will be the perfect location for our expansion plans.

"We could not be more grateful to everyone who has supported us over the last three years, especially through the difficulties of Covid.

"We hear constantly about the challenges of trading in the high street and are so pleased, as an independent, to be able to bring a little positivity to the retail offering in York.”