A children’s retailer which started in Birmingham's Great Western Arcade more than two decades ago has opened a new flagship store in the city as it looks for national expansion opportunities.

The brainchild of Birmingham husband and wife team Tehmi and Bahram Parinchy, Bratz has opened its new store in the Pavilions to compliment stores in Solihull, Leamington Spa and Liverpool.

Born out of a realisation high end children’s fashion was not being catered for, Tehmi is adament their shops can take on the biggest names in the High Street.

“Our biggest competitors are the major department stores, which for us as an independent retailer, is more flattering than worrying,” she said. “The reason is we have exclusivity on our brands, which include D&G, Baby Dior and Burberry; you would have to look hard to find somewhere in Birmingham with the brands and items for children we have.”

In this time of credit crisis is Tehmi worried about her independent status and expansion plans coming unstuck as retailers fall by the wayside? Seemingly not.

“I don’t know about anyone else but I am sick of hearing about the doom and gloom and misery of the credit crunch. I believe the independent retailer will be the victor of the financial climate.

“Retail landlords need to take stock and recognise that the unique retailers are the way forward. The biggest problem I see with today’s shopping centres is that they are all full of the same stores, with the same mass-produced stock. Nothing is unique and that’s why businesses are folding.”

Tehmi is glad to be back at the Pavilions after a stint in the Bullring. She openly admits that when the big shiny Bullring opened the temptation to run and join the ‘big boys’ became too much and she and her husband took the decision to leave their spot in Pavilions and set up camp there. But before long, the rose tint began to drain out of the atmosphere and the overheads began to get on top of them.

She said: “At the time, we were on the lower ground floor of the Pavilions and when the stores down there started leaving for spots in the Bullring, we followed suit as the footfall dropped. We soon began to see that we were right in the middle of a centre full of stores that you can go to anywhere in the country and as great as the Bullring is, the expensive overheads and atmosphere didn’t complement our products. So we decided the best thing to do was to go back to Pavilions.

“To be honest, returning to the Pavilions felt like going home. Many of the people there have worked there since the beginning and it has such a family atmosphere. They were very happy to see us return, in fact they had an excellent attitude towards it.

“They told us that people kept asking where we were and that we had been missed. Not only that but they gave us a prime unit location on the High Street level, and at the correct price for a business that will bring added value and uniqueness to their centre. I can’t reiterate enough how much Pavilions needs to be recognised for their approach to recruiting the right mix of tenants.”

With the new store now in full swing, Tehmi is confident of a successful future for the company.

She said: “We’re recognising the changing face of retail and embracing it whole-heartedly. We’re moving with the times with the addition of our e-commerce offer so we can sell products on our website nationwide as easily as we can in our stores but what we truly excel at is quality attention to service with a smile and this, combined with our knack for stocking the best quality unique items, is why I am certain we will continue to be successful.”