A family retailer which has traded in the city centre for 40 years has completed an expansion – just months after the owner considered closing the doors for good.
Rex Johnson and Sons, which has been run by the Johnson company since 1973, has invested £100,000 to double the size of its Corporation Street store.
Owner David Johnson said he was confident for the future of the store after three years of work on the Midland Metro finally bore fruit.
It represents a major about-face after years of loss-making as Corporation Street, traditionally a hub for shopping in Birmingham, struggled to attract customers.
Mr Johnson, who founded the store alongside father Rex and brother Robert, initially in Wolverhampton, said he was pleased he has been able to keep the doors open for the next generation of the family.
He said: “I nearly threw the towel in because it was so difficult to trade with everything going on outside.
“It wasn’t just the work and the holes in the street, it was the noise.
“The customer could never hear what you were saying – which isn’t really the environment you want when you are buying a diamond ring.”
With trams finally travelling to the Bull Street Metro station, the future for retail in that corner of the city looks stronger.
Footflow has been boosted with thousands visiting the new Grand Central and John Lewis stores nearby.
Mr Johnson said he had already noticed a difference in the tills.
The new, larger, store is split into two – the original store and the new half which is more minimalistic and focused on younger clientele.
The newer operation will focus on selling pre-owned expensive jewellery, like Rolex and Cartier watches.
Mr Johnson added: “We can feel the footflow is different and the type of people walking down Corporation Street and across to Grand Central are proper shoppers – people who are going to spend money.
“But for the last three years we have struggled. Corporation Street has basically been closed with the amount of work going on.
“We are coming out the other end.
“Finally, Corporation Street is returning to what it once was – a high-profile Birmingham shopping street.
“By the time Apple opens in late spring, this will be a very good area to be in.”
The third generation of the Johnson family is already involved at Rex Johnson and Sons, with Mr Johnson’s 34-year-old son Ben involved with the business.
After Rex died in 1996 and Robert died in 2002, it had appeared that the future for the store had been bleak.
However, Mr Johnson is now confident it will be there for generations to come.
He said: “I wanted a shop that had real continuity for Ben and for a long time that didn’t seem possible.
“But I can see us being here for a number of years now, with a shop that continues the tradition of Rex Johnson and Sons.”
