The Harlequin Shopping Centre rebrand begins

10:18am Monday 25th February 2013 in News Photograph of the Author By Mike Wright, Chief Reporter

Harlequin Centre rebrand begins Harlequin Centre rebrand begins

Shoppers are due to get their first glimpse of The Harlequin Shopping Centre’s impending rebrand to intu Watford this week.

New intu signs are set to be trialled on the mall’s entrance and also over the Kings Car Park over the coming days.

The move comes as part of a nation-wide rebranding exercise being taken by the shopping centre’s operator Intu, formerly Capital Shopping Centres.

Mike Stevens, general manager of The Harlequin, said: "Our signage trial will give us a chance to identify the best design, material and construction options before applying for permission to install permanent signs later in the year.

"Watford was the perfect choice given the high profile and visibility of the centre and the vision and ambition of the mayor, Dorothy Thornhill and Watford Borough Council to establish Watford as a leading regional shopping centre and leisure destination."

This week Intu also revealed more details about its plans for the Charter Place centre, which it is set to take over on a long lease and redevelop.

The company said that once it is finished Charter Place will be joined with The Harlequin under the single banner of intu Watford.

Intu said it intends to submit a planning application for the £80million development in the next few months.

Comments(17)

garston tony says...
10:27am Mon 25 Feb 13

Not that the word/name 'Harlequin' had any actual particular relation to the town when that was chosen as the name of the shopping centre but the new name is totally meaningless and is not going to encourage any one new to come to the centre.

Anyone who is going to do so already knows the Harlequin brand and where it is. This appears to be change just for the sake of it

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Romo says...
10:33am Mon 25 Feb 13

Call it what you like, I'll still refer to it as The Harlequin!

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TRT says...
10:41am Mon 25 Feb 13

garston tony wrote:
Not that the word/name 'Harlequin' had any actual particular relation to the town when that was chosen as the name of the shopping centre but the new name is totally meaningless and is not going to encourage any one new to come to the centre.

Anyone who is going to do so already knows the Harlequin brand and where it is. This appears to be change just for the sake of it
It was the name given to the local DC railway line. From a railway enthusiast magazine article...

"The Euston-Watford d.c. line has been named 'The Harlequin Line' following a competition by Network SouthEast and the line and its publicity now has a red and blue harlequin logo. The name is allegedly derived from combinations of Harlesden and Queen's Park (Harle and Queen? - don't go there!!). NSE are producing a quarterly news sheet entitled 'The Harlequin' and issue No.1 dated June 1988 is now available."

This predates by some margin the opening of the shopping centre in 1992.

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pepsiman says...
10:45am Mon 25 Feb 13

It would be nice if it was put to the local schools or community as competition for the best and meaningful local new name, however, I see it is a national change with another 14 shopping centres getting the same treat.

http://www.intugroup
.co.uk/media-centre/
news/watford-chosen-
as-trial-for-intu-si
gnage/

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TRT says...
10:49am Mon 25 Feb 13

pepsiman wrote:
It would be nice if it was put to the local schools or community as competition for the best and meaningful local new name, however, I see it is a national change with another 14 shopping centres getting the same treat.

http://www.intugroup

.co.uk/media-centre/

news/watford-chosen-

as-trial-for-intu-si

gnage/
That's how the name was picked originally!

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garston tony says...
12:34pm Mon 25 Feb 13

TRT wrote:
garston tony wrote: Not that the word/name 'Harlequin' had any actual particular relation to the town when that was chosen as the name of the shopping centre but the new name is totally meaningless and is not going to encourage any one new to come to the centre. Anyone who is going to do so already knows the Harlequin brand and where it is. This appears to be change just for the sake of it
It was the name given to the local DC railway line. From a railway enthusiast magazine article... "The Euston-Watford d.c. line has been named 'The Harlequin Line' following a competition by Network SouthEast and the line and its publicity now has a red and blue harlequin logo. The name is allegedly derived from combinations of Harlesden and Queen's Park (Harle and Queen? - don't go there!!). NSE are producing a quarterly news sheet entitled 'The Harlequin' and issue No.1 dated June 1988 is now available." This predates by some margin the opening of the shopping centre in 1992.
We'll, i always say that you're never too old to learn something new. Thanks for that TRT, I always thought it was just a generically thought up name for the shopping centre.

Which the new name surely is, unless someone's going to dig up how 'Intu' is part of Watfords history?

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Mohandas says...
12:38pm Mon 25 Feb 13

TRT 'The name is allegedly derived from combinations of Harlesden and Queen's Park'. I know those two areas and there are so different like the name change.

Perhaps they are anticipating Premier League status for WFC and a possible name change to Intu Watford.

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pstannard4 says...
12:49pm Mon 25 Feb 13

Harlequin Centre Watford
1992 - 2013 RIP
ALWAYS REMEMBERED NEVER FORGOTTEN.

I for one will still call it the Harlequin.

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Andrew1963 says...
2:11pm Mon 25 Feb 13

Harlequin name for the rail line name lasted about 3 years - It was always known as the 'New Line' or 'DC (Direct Current as it was electrified to identify it as different from the steam hauled mainline) lines'. I never liked the Harlequin name having had my suggestion of the A2B by DC brand name roundly rejected by BR management. Anyway i expect to see those old Harlequin signs beiing bid for on eBay or maybe one in the Watford Museum. - Whatever happened to the figure of Atlas that used to be in the Harlequin food court?

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Andrew Turpie says...
2:15pm Mon 25 Feb 13

You call intu, I call it a "random array of average shops with no atompshere or personality"

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Andrew Turpie says...
2:15pm Mon 25 Feb 13

*atmosphere

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E.Coli says...
2:56pm Mon 25 Feb 13

Why not call purple doom

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pikkagirl19 says...
5:10pm Mon 25 Feb 13

Please can you change the name? Cause some of us get confused by name.

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theturpster says...
5:44pm Mon 25 Feb 13

Harlequin rebranding forges ahead and in other news, an increase of attempts to polish turds.

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selectronica says...
1:18am Tue 26 Feb 13

Ok, so the font is ok but seriously Orange! Watford in Orange! Yeah that's a real watford colour, not !
Why do firms like this get it so wrong? Now when I think of Watford town I most certainly don't think of orange. Surely Watford should have been in red or even yellow? I know call me a genius but its simple.
Orange= Low quality /Luton town / easy jet.
Get rid of it and stop wasting your money on rebranding, lower your rents to fill a soon to be desolate mall. Times are hard and bleak and you choose to do this! Really? Wake up!!

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MarsLander says...
7:41pm Tue 26 Feb 13

Can you "dumb down" a shopping centre name?

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jayjai says...
10:55pm Sun 24 Mar 13

selectronica wrote:
Ok, so the font is ok but seriously Orange! Watford in Orange! Yeah that's a real watford colour, not !
Why do firms like this get it so wrong? Now when I think of Watford town I most certainly don't think of orange. Surely Watford should have been in red or even yellow? I know call me a genius but its simple.
Orange= Low quality /Luton town / easy jet.
Get rid of it and stop wasting your money on rebranding, lower your rents to fill a soon to be desolate mall. Times are hard and bleak and you choose to do this! Really? Wake up!!
well did you no most of the shop in intu Watford are not owned by the intu group there third party owned or sublet by other store named store's some of the store own one store but trade from an other store so the rent not set by the center i know this as i worked in many of the store and the center over the last 10 years

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