For over 200 years, luxury family jewellers, Parkhouse has been at the heart
of Hampshire’s shopping scene and a favourite destination store for many
Islanders. Offering one of the country’s widest collections of luxury Swiss watches
outside of London, and specialising in fine diamonds, the Southampton jewellers
is to move to a new state-of-the art showroom and rebrand as Laing.
Laing, who ow ns the Parkhouse business
and began life as a firm of clockmakers
in Scotland in 1840, is relocating
the Hampshire store to £1 million
premises on the lower ground floor of
Southampton’s Westquay shopping
centre in September this year.
The new 2,820 sq foot store will benefit
from a fit-out of the highest specification,
featuring contemporary, light and airy
interiors and housing Laing’s in-house
fine diamond jewellery and world leading
luxury brands Rolex, Patek Philippe and
IWC Schaffhausen.
Customers who have enjoyed shopping
at Parkhouse over the years will feel
reassured that the same staff will be
relocated to the new store.
What can Islanders expect from a trip
across the Solent to Laing?
Our goal as a jewellers is to ‘deliver
dreams’ for our customers, whether
they’re after a striking custom-made
engagement ring, once-in-a-lifetime
luxury watch or a piece of fine jewellery
to make them sparkle. That’s why we
invest so much in the overall shopping
experience.
Island Life caught up with
Laing and Parkhouse chairman,
Michael Laing OBE for an
exclusive preview of the new
store and to hear more about its
future as Laing.
Michael tell us about your new
store in Hampshire?
The Parkhouse store has been
located on Above Bar since 1893,
so we felt it was time to move
into a new contemporary store
that is more fitting with our style.
The store will be based in a
new luxury retail corner at Westquay, so
again will suit our customers who seek
out high quality and an elite shopping
experience. The store is benefitting from
a fit-out of the highest specification
with a light and airy feel to form a
luxurious showroom for customers to
come and browse our bespoke Family
Collection and world-leading luxury
brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe and
IWC Schaffhausen.
The first Parkhouse store at Above Bar
Of course, the beautifully-fitted store
will be worth a visit in itself, but I would
say the real selling point for Islanders
making a trip to us is the service we
provide for our customers. Guests to
Laing will be greeted by experienced
experts in diamonds and watches who
can offer one-on-one assistance, and
because it takes time to select a piece that
is just perfect, there’s always a refreshing
glass of bubbly waiting to savour as they
browse our collections.
With so much history in Hampshire,
why are you rebranding now?
Over the last 200 years, the Parkhouse
name has become synonymous with
luxury and quality. You may be aware that
Parkhouse has been owned and run by
my family for over 22 years and we feel
that the time is now right to share the
values and vision under the one name.
Tell us more about Laing
The Parkhouse and Laing family
businesses are actually very similar, and
have been built on shared values,
dedicated to delivering dreams
for our customers.
Our Laing family business
has been specialising in fine
diamonds, great design, and
luxury watches for over 175
years and my son Richard is a
sixth generation jeweller. Richard
and myself still regularly visit
Antwerp to personally hand-pick
the diamonds used in our Family
Collection. Because family is at
the very heart of our business,
we have decided to share one
family name across the country.
When can Islanders visit the new
store?
The new Laing store will be opening in
September. People can keep an eye out
for exact timings on our website or by
following us on Twitter. We look forward
to welcoming our Isle of Wight customers
to the new store soon.
Laing Hampshire will be located at Westquay, Harbour Parade, Southampton, S015 1QF.
For more information, visit www.parkhousehampshire.com or pop into the existing store at 96 Above Bar, Southampton, SO14 7JR.