City woos women

By rhall

A new campaign is being launched to woo women shoppers to Bath.

Business in the city will be given a boost this autumn by the initiative which is designed to support the city's retail sector.

Around 100 buses in the west will carry adverts aimed at tempting female shoppers living within an hour's drive of Bath to the city.

The £70,000 campaign is being run by the Bath City Centre Management Partnership, which was set up by public/private company Future Bath Plus.

The partnership has worked with advertising agencies and media planners to create the campaign.

Buses in Bath, Bristol, Stroud, Wells and Swindon will carry images of a woman walking across the rooftops of Bath with a shopping bag over her shoulder.

Images of the Bath shopper will also appear on the side of a taxi in Bristol and in regional newspapers and lifestyle magazines.

Funding for the campaign has come from major retail landlords such as Bath and North East Somerset Council and St John's Hospital.

Financial support has also been provided by The Podium shopping centre and Milsom Place developer the L&R Group as well as Bath Tourism Plus, Thermae Bath Spa and Future Bath Plus.

City centre manager Andrew Cooper said: "This is a very dramatic start to the campaign.

"We want to have an impact from day one and these exploding ads will certainly be eye-catching."

Bath PR firm Hancock Communications has been hired to focus on the delights of a shopping and spa visit to the city.

Its boss Nicky Hancock said: "People come to Bath for more than shopping.

"Bath is well known for its shopping and fashionable shopping.

"We have got really top boutiques secreted away.

"It is a voyage of discovery that we want visitors to make.

"These are not just shops, they are shops in context and we are offering the whole package of shopping alongside the restaurants and ambience of the city."

The campaign will also focus on attracting shoppers to Bath's Christmas market.

Meanwhile, High street surfwear store Animal has become the latest retailer to sign up for a shop in the SouthGate shopping centre.

The chain, which currently runs around 54 stores across the UK, will launch a 3,700 sq ft shop over two floors when the first phase of the £360 million development opens in November.

Animal will open a store in Block B of the development which will also be home to clothes store QuikSilver.

The chain currently has a shop in Bath's Corridor shopping centre which will close on Saturday September 26.

It will employ seven full time and around 15 part-time staff.

Developer Multi's leasing director Stuart Harris said it was hoping to announce more names soon.

He said: "We are delighted that Animal has committed to the scheme and it is an important part of the tenant mix we are currently developing."

Electronic giant Apple is also likely to open a store in SouthGate's Block B in November.