Beverley will be thrown into the public lime light this weekend as two stars from the hit TV show ‘The Only Way is Essex’ open their second boutique.
Sisters Sam and Billie Faiers need little introduction to most people, but if like me you prefer to tune into Match of the Day and don’t read the celebrity columns in papers and magazines, let me try to explain why the arrival of their new shop is great news for the high street in Beverley.
With over a million viewers tuning in to watch TOWIE, the girls have become household names in homes around the country. The very fact they will be in Beverley in person to open their store means visitors from far and wide will be heading our way this weekend.
The level of interest in them is not just from local fans but from people throughout the country. The opening of this store on Saturday is very likely to result in this little market town in East Yorkshire being talked about in gossip magazines and the celebrity pages of national Sunday Newspapers, which can only be a good thing.
Still not convinced?
Well lets think about it another way. Billie Faiers has 1.7 million followers on Twitter; that is a quarter of million more than my favourite celebrity Robbie Savage. Her sister Sam weighs in with a staggering 1.28 million followers of her account.
More than twice as many people follow Billie Fairers than follow the Prime Minster David Cameron on Twitter, which means when they arrive this weekend and announce it on social media they will be addressing a bigger audience than the leader of our country.
No one knows how many will turn up to meet the stars for the opening in Beverley this weekend between 10 – 4 on the Saturday and 12 – 2 on the Sunday. What is known is that some have already confirmed they are travelling from outside of the usual catchment area for shoppers to be here this weekend; that will increase footfall .
Bolo say the response to an online competition held to meet Sam and Billie was so popular that they had to close it early as they were simply overwhelmed by the demand from fans to meet the TV stars.
While fans will get to meet their idols, the real purpose of this weekend is to launch a shop as the girls continue to develop their own brand ‘Minnies Boutique’ and give their latest venture in Beverley the best possible start through maximising the publicity that their profiles afford them.
Lesley Wilks, who has helped put together the plan for the Beverley shop, says the sisters loved the Town when they visited. She said they were also impressed by the amount of investment being put into Beverley, which was key to them choosing East Yorkshire Market Town as the location of their second shop.
Once launched, Beverley will be the location of the only Minnies Boutique in the North. With an army of fans currently travelling to the shop in the south of England and it is hoped some of them will now come to Beverley instead.
Whether you are into reality TV or fashion or not, there is no escaping the magnitude of what is happening on our High Street.
This weekend millions of people who may never have heard of Beverley will soon know of its existence, arguably making it the most important event of the year.
