The Interview: Mike Lawrence, owner/buyer, The Projekt Store
Mike Lawrence opened the second incarnation of The Projekt Store in Sutton, Surrey, one year ago this week. It has an altogether more contemporary look and feel compared to the original independent store further down Sutton High Street, which he also still operates with his team.
Ahead of the newest shop’s first anniversary, Lawrence gives his verdict on the changing face of retail in Sutton, with Flannels opening soon, and moving with the times.
The Projekt Store’s second shop, at 126 Sutton High Street, is more in the middle of the street – closer to Sutton station, than the original store at 217a. The middle to top end of the high street is where owner Mike Lawrence sees the better retailers now opening. Flannels coming soon is a big indicator of that, though Lawrence sees that as a positive as he believes it will “elevate the town.”
The newest shop, which is 1,200 sq ft over two floors, has more of a Shoreditch feel to it than the original. For starters, it’s next to Pearson Cycles – the oldest bike shop in the world, and set in a cool courtyard set back from the high street, which Lawrence rents from Pearson.
The Pearson bicycle business was founded in 1860, so the building the new store is in has a lot of old character. The upstairs in particular, which was only refurbished and opened for business at the end of March this year, has a kind of New York loft apartment feel to it. Pearson also still has its old bike workshop next to The Projekt Store in the courtyard, which adds to the feel of it.
“We’re getting a lot of people coming in to the new store, who might have just discovered us or known us from before, and they say it’s got a Shoreditch or Neal’s Yard-type vibe to it,” explains Lawrence.
“Also, although we do like Sutton as a town as we’ve been here a long time and we live here, a big compliment is people saying it feels like you’re not in Sutton anymore. It’s a good thing to hear because they feel like they’re in a different space.
“Having said that, I’m always pretty positive about the town. People are often quite quick to put the town they live in down, but Sutton has a good high street. There’s plenty of high streets in the country that are faring much worse. Also, our new shop is unique because it’s about the only place in the town that’s off the high street, yet still on it.”
It’s also very different from what else is in the town, and also very different from what Lawrence has been doing down the road for a long time, which he says is dated. “We’ve been there 11 years and, if we do decide to stay there and commit to further terms, then we’ll spend some money on that store as well, and maybe change it around a bit.
“I used to manage and buy for that shop long before I took over the business from the previous owner and changed the name to The Projekt Store – from the previous long-standing menswear shop that was called Troubabour from 1977 to 2008. I changed it in 2008 to give it my own stamp.”
For now, the focus is very much on the latest store, and Lawrence has been happy with how it’s all gone in the first year of trading. “We actually opened it on 7 June last year, and it’s been great. Initially we had a tentative six-month trial deal, but literally after the first week we knew it was going to be good.”
One thing in his favour is that the owners of Pearson want them to succeed and he says they are “not greedy landlords”. Also, they want them to be there as it all adds to the appeal. “I think we see the future of the business in the new store, because it’s in the right part of town. Sutton High Street is over a mile long and it’s very linear. Everything is migrating from the bottom North end of the high street in to the middle and upper parts. We’re excited about the future.”
Lawrence sees the new Flannels store opening as something that will bring a new customer in to town. He says they have got customers that head up to Harrods to buy the likes of Alexander McQueen trainers or Valentino, then they go back to them to buy Replay, Carhartt or whatever other brands they like.
“So, if it gets them just going to Flannels here to buy those things then they might come and see us the same day, rather than a couple of days later. It will also bring in other guys that would head up to shops like that in to the town. They might not know about us yet, but suddenly they’ll find us.
“I think it’s a good thing for the town. The best thing about it is, the most recent openings in the town have been more value orientated, nothing premium. I’ve been saying for ages that what Sutton needs is higher end retailers coming in, not another pound shop or cheap restaurant opening.”
There will clearly be an effect, as it will also no doubt mean other better end retailers and restaurants will see Sutton as a potential new location to open. “I’m not sure how it will affect the old store and the other end of town though,” offers Lawrence. “But I don’t think it will affect the new store because it’s a different customer. We don’t really have much in the way of brand cross-overs. The sensible approach might be to consolidate our business in to the one store, but it’s a risk as the old store still pays for itself and is a good unit for us. We’ll see how it goes.”
Mike Ashley has actually bought the whole of the old Times Square shopping centre (which incorporates the unit that Flannels is going in) in the middle of town, and he will be also putting a USC and Evans Cycles in there, as well as moving Sports Direct in to it from its current site.
The shopping centre is currently being redeveloped, and it’s likely that Ashley will change the name of it, though that has not been confirmed. The purchase also means Ashley is now the landlord of both TK Maxx and Starbucks. “We’ll probably crossover with USC on the likes of Lacoste and Barbour,” offers Lawrence, though it doesn’t seem to faze him.
His team on the shop floor in both shops have generally worked in retail in Sutton for many years, and know a lot of people locally. “We’re very much local, so we rely heavily on regular business and knowing our customers. That’s what we’re about really,” he comments. The catchment area for people coming to shop in Sutton is also far reaching, with neighbouring towns such as Cheam, Carshalton, Ewell and Epsom not having a retail offer anywhere close to Sutton’s.
Brands at Lawrence’s original store include Levi’s, Gant, Replay, Gabicci Vintage, Dr. Martens, G.H. Bass, Marc Darcy tailoring and a smaller selection of Carhartt to the new store. “Carhartt is actually our biggest brand across the business now,” says Lawrence.
Brands at the more recent store also include Barbour’s ‘Beacon’ and ‘Made For Japan’ ranges, Champion, Edmmond Studios, Edwin, Farah, Parlez, Colourful Standard, Portuguese Flannel, Saucony, Deus ex Machina,Grenson sneakers and a selection of lifestyle and grooming products. Clarks Originals will be going in to the new store for AW19, as will K-Way, and Lawrence is looking to bring in the likes of Universal Works going forward.
A big recent and surprise success in the new store has been Green Factory terrariums – glass containers, or “little glass gardens” as Lawrence calls them – containing soil and plants that can be opened for maintenance. “We’ve sold around 130 pieces now, and they go for between £65-£200 each, depending on the size. They are made in Paris and shipped over. Harvey Nichols, Liberty and Goodhood also sell them.”
Social media plays a key role in creating a buzz around new products that come in to the store, with Instagram a particular favourite. “We’re very active on it,” says Lawrence. “We don’t have a trade online or have a website. We tried that a few years ago but found we kind of got lost in the minefield of it all. We also found that it was detracting from our business down the road. Our regular customers were becoming lazy, looking at our website to see what newness we had, and not coming in to the shop as much. So, we quickly decided to knock in on the head.”
Following that, Lawrence says they got more active on social media, and they now have over 5,000 followers on Instagram. “And they’re all quite active followers, which helps,” he comments. “They’re not all over the country who are following us just to get followers back. It’s a very important tool for us, so we do post regularly and we do see good feedback from that. Especially with the Green Factory terrariums lately. People will come in the shop and ask to see something they’ve seen us post. It’s always good to have things to talk about.”
Plans are now afoot this summer to do pop-up barbering events, as well as putting a small coffee bar in the shop. “We also intend to use the outside space for parties, events and launches,” offers Lawrence. Modern day independent menswear retailing has well and truly arrived in Sutton, and the place could soon be booming.
