Red Brick Market gets set for 2023 expansion, nearly doubling its number of retail spaces

With everything from jewellery to t-shirts, and crystals to vinyl records, Red Brick Market Liverpool fufils its promise to offer ‘the coolest shopping experience’ in the city.

Since it started five years ago, the independent indoor venue has welcomed and supported loads of unique traders, artists, and businesses.

And now it’s moving to new premises to become even bigger and better – and offering more services to help sellers and start-ups.

From January 14, Red Brick Market will be launching from its new address, still at Cains Brewery Village but in a larger building at 70 Stanhope Street: “So we’ll be sandwiched between the Baltic Market and the Yellow Submarine,” says founder and director, Chris Day.

It’s thanks to Red Brick’s success that they are making the move. Chris explains: “We’ve outgrown the current building. We’re at capacity now but we are constantly getting requests from more people and more businesses to move in.

“Plus it’s looking tired, so we needed an upgrade. The new building is double the size so there’s plenty of space, it’s more modern, and it’s brighter.”

Red Brick Market currently has 75 small businesses trading, but the new market will have 136 retail spaces with a range of sizes to suit different businesses, offering more choice for the shopper and greater flexibility for the trader.

“It sounds cheesy but the whole idea behind Red Brick is to help small businesses. I used to have shop in Woolton Village many years ago and even small shops come with huge price tags, business rates, and long leases, while we provide businesses with enough space to see if they can work and mitigate as many of the risks as we can.

“What also sets us apart is that we have staff and a central payment desk so traders don’t even have to man their businesses themselves, and it means people with kids, other jobs, and other responsibilities, can have a go at setting themselves up and come and go as they please.”

And he adds: “It’s a totally eclectic mix of old and new, things you wouldn’t get on the high street, and pretty much locally-sourced – much of it handmade – by local people.

“Especially after lockdown, people want to support local businesses and so Red Brick Market has flourished. We really do have something for everyone, and it’s one of those places you walk in and go ‘wow’.”

As well as additional retail units, the extra space in the new building means Chris will be setting up a training school for people who want to set up their own business – Foundations at Red Brick – offering two to three day courses to teach the basics, as well as Creative Collective at Red Brick which will offer flexible spaces for workshops, artists’ studios and non-selling businesses with short leases and basic rents from £50 a week.

Chris says: “The move is really exciting and it’s nice to be able to shout about the place. We are one of the longest-established businesses in Cains Brewery but not everybody in the city knows about us, and it feels about time they did.”