Bluewater store closed

Our Bluewater store closed on Saturday 8th September 2007

The reasons for the store closure were many and varied but principally we made a strategic decision for the company not to continue to trade in large out of town shopping centres such as Bluewater. We simply feel that the Argenteus ethos of selling innovative and individual pieces from our own collections, as well as those from British and international designers, is received better outside of such developments at the moment.

Bluewater originally opened in 1999 with a fresh approach to shopping centre retailing that we were proud to be a part of. However it seemed to us that in recent years that the predominance of branded multiples and the lack of consistency in the shopping experience in the centre no longer encouraged that philosophy. As many of you will know we fell foul of this in 2004 when we and the majority of other retailers in The Village were forced to close our stores due to Bluewater's leasing policy. Our Village store was very successful and popular and we never expected to lose it. We fought hard not to have to close, but were given no choice by the landlords. Whilst our new location in the upper mall was bigger and better, we never seemed to recapture the atmosphere of The Village. We were told at the time that the motivation was to 'refresh the tenant mix', a popular Bluewater management catchphrase. However 3 years on there seems to be even more jewellers in our original location than were there when we left, so its difficult to see how the upheaval that was caused to all the tenants in 2004 was justified.

In our opinion the current predominance of huge brands, international retailers and the other big names in Bluewater largely overshadows the bright spots that we and the other niche retailers in the centre tried to provide. Of course we know that its all a matter of opinion and many people still love Bluewater, its just we no longer felt it was the place for us. The pressure to compete in the current environment was having a negative effect on our other stores and so we decided that it would be better to concentrate positively on those.

We don't see Argenteus as just another jewellery chain, we regard each shop as a destination in its own right. We don't feel the need to run with any particular herd and in that context believe that more accessible and individual high street locations are better suited to that aspiration. In such stores we are part of a diverse shopping community and can give all our customers the degree of personal one-to-one service that we enjoy providing in a more intimate and focused way.

Our other high street stores in Covent Garden, Oxford and Bristol continue to thrive and attract huge attention from customers seeking something different and unusual. That's not to say that our loyal customers in Bluewater weren't just as important to us, its just that there seemed to be less of them in Bluewater than in the big wide world outside.

That said, we were extremely sad to see Bluewater go as it had been part of our company for over 8 years. Argenteus was one of the first retailers in Bluewater and with a few exceptions our departure pretty much marks the end of British designer jewellery being available there. No other store offered the range and selection of work from over 20 different exponents of great British design talent. It remains to be seen if any other retailer will fill that gap there now or in the future.

The good news is that we still have a store very near to Bluewater in Covent Garden where all our ranges and much more are available. We very much hope that our fantastic Bluewater customers (and you all know who you are) will make the little extra journey to visit us there. This will also be the first port of call for any issues arising from purchases, repairs or commissions started in Bluewater. If there are any additional queries or problems or if you would like to comment on any of the above please contact our customer service team by emailing customerservices@argenteus.co.uk or calling local rate on 08454 560 460.

Don't forget that you can also buy our jewellery in our online store and over the next few months we will be enhancing the range and facilities we offer there.

Thanks once again to everyone who supported us in Bluewater over the years. We hope you understand our reasons for closing and look forward to seeing you all in one of our other stores very soon.

Ian Middleton
Managing Director