subject: Something Of A Specialist [print this page] Step over the store's threshold and that statement is echoed by a contemporary interior. Instead of staff standing behind glass counters, there is free-standing centre-shop equipment and what Ayton refers to as a charm bar.
Rather than a place where compliments are exchanged, this is in fact a central feature of the store's circular interior, displaying jewellery chains to which you can attach more than 1,000 different charms. Shoppers sit in front of the bar on stools and assemble a charm bracelet to their own specification.
In a pillar in the centre of the area is what Ayton refers to as "the charm machine". Push the button and an endless array of charms rolls out in front of you. It is clear that Ayton and his team of interior designers wanted to do things differently.
There is an air of luxury about the rest of the interior, from the marble floors to the pear-wood cabinets. Although most jewellery on offer is extremely affordable by Sloane Square standards, there is an area of more expensive merchandise where products are displayed in small backlit display cabinets set into the wall.
When it comes to making a purchase, the cash and wrap area is adjacent to the main door and the packaging has been arranged on a shelf with a fetishistic attention to detail. And if looking at the products proves too tiring, a pair of sofas await where you can relax.
The store represents the more affordable side of one of the UK's most expensive shopping areas and is representative of what is on offer across the chain's 16 UK standalone shops and four concessions. At the beginning of March, Links opened a store at LIverpool's Met Quarter with a design similar to that of the Sloane Square flagship, but on a smaller scale.
The move was prompted by a desire to raise the retailer's profile in what Ayton calls the "leading provincial cities". Bristol, Cardiff, Manchester and Birmingham can all expect store openings in the next couple of years.
This is part of Ayton's five-year plan to raise the retailer's turnover from 30 million to 100 million. At that point, many might be tempted to float. Ayton says: "We're still enjoying doing this. We've thought about a possible float and we may still need an injection of capital to keep the momentum going."
