Hobbs, Covent Garden

The Regent Street store was intended to emphasise the British nature of the brand with references to a “manor house”, or some such thing. The only problem was that it wasn’t entirely convincing in the way in which it set about achieving this ambition. The outcome was a store that, while good, certainly didn’t smack of an interior that would have pleased the squirearchy.

For whatever reason, and the store’s geography may have much to do with this, the Covent Garden branch is an altogether different proposition.

Whether it’s the pictures that line the walls on the large landing that the shopper passes through on the way from the ground floor to the basement, or the riding hats on the upper shelf of a display unit near the entrance, the manor house’s influence is obvious. And Hobbs customers seem to approve. On the day of visiting, the store was not just busy - there were queues at the cash desk.

Hobbs lost its way for a while, both in terms of its offer and the manner in which it organised its store environments. This store is a definitive mark in the sand and if the elements that have been used here can be taken elsewhere, we could be about to see a major renaissance for the brand during 2010.

Hobbs has been one of the high street’s great survivors and it looks as if it is about to successfully reinvent itself as we move into the second decade of the 21st century.