Nike factory outlet.. The have great stuff here its all Nike branded and it very very reasonable…read moreprices. Its not the latest designs or styles but its like last season or ex stock they can't sell. Mens Trainers average in from £20-40 a pair depending on discount amount. Good if u wanna by a few pairs in one go. Good for gym clothing men's shorts £5-10 tops £10-20. Stock is limited so go grab yourself a bargain. Parking outside costs £1.60 for two hours and cheaper for 30 minutes.

This is a relatively large Sports Direct store, in the Bullring in Birmingham city centre, it is…read morepretty much your typical Sports Direct store, relatively cheap sports clothing in a claustrophobic atmosphere, where they always seem to unnecessarily make the store as narrow as possible, resulting in a not so great overall shopping experience. There are entrances through the mall and on street level which is handy. They did have a pretty good selection, many of the items were competitively priced. They did seem to have a good number of employees working to satisfy demand, which is rather efficient and can be hit or miss at these types of stores, more so in the current climate - although queuing at the checkouts could have again be improved. 3* - Large store with a good product selection, I just wish they thought more about their own layout making it more welcoming and accessible, rather than appearing to be more of a mess than anything else.

This place provides a truly awful shopping experience…read more A discount sports clothing chain that sells a small amount of sporting equipment also. The staff here seem to hate the place. I don't blame them as the clientele seem to be mostly rude with little consideration for other shoppers or staff. You'll also find plenty of pushchairs in the aisles blocking your way, or people having conversations unwilling to step aside to let you through. There's always a queue at the tills, and you'll always be asked if you want to buy a branded plastic bag. After a second "no thank you" persuasion techniques became annoying. This place's saving grace comes in the form that it's cheap branded specialist sports clothing. Also in its location in the bullring- if like me you needed some sports leggings and are in this area, there's not many other places where you can pick up good quality ones fairly cheap. (Let me know if there are please!) Be warned though, they have an in store no refunds just store credit policy which can be inconvenient.

Nike Factory Store at Resorts World is a pretty cool store, the selection is pretty good in terms…read moreof Nike gear with everything from trainers to sportswear as well as football jerseys from Nike's elite teams including PSG, Inter Milan and the England National team. The staff seemed friendly and happy to help, there was someone who stood at the door welcoming customers - something that has become rare ever since the pandemic but is something I appreciate. I do think the store could be laid out better, many items are very close to each other on stands which can easily be moved, so passing through can be a little narrow/uncomfortable - They have such a big store, so there's no need for this! Remember, it is mainly an Outlet store, so you might not see the latest in Nike fashion with a couple of exceptions. 4* - Pretty cool store with friendly staff, a great addition to Resorts World Birmingham.

The Stadium Megastore has been refurbished in recent times. In here you can find West Bromwich…read moreAlbion's home and away shirts for children and adults, Albion training shirts, beanies etc. Everything Albion will be in here! The Club will also have Players visiting the Club Shop to meet and greet fans. This will probably take place during the school half-term. I had the privilege of meeting both Peter Odemwingie and Youssouf Mulumbu this year at the Club Shop. Keep an eye out on the Club website and attend the Stadium Megastore to see what offers are available for Baggies fans. The Stadium Megastore is situated right next to the East Stand and is open on Matchdays. The opening times can be found above.

Embarking on a weeks worth of work experience with West Bromwich Albion, I spent a day in the…read morestore, dealing with customers and helping out with stock etc. Of all the days, this was probably the most tedious due to the repetitive stream of tasks I had to do. Despite this, the staff there made it fairly enjoyable, as otherwise I can imagine the day to have turned out quite differently. The store was fairly empty, although being close to the end of the season, it did have its outbursts of customers who made the most of the great offers to snap up some merchandise. I may be an Aston Villa fan, but the day spent in the megastore at West Brom was still a relatively good day, with a well ran shop and great staff to boot.

After being heckled by an Aston Villa supporter, who was campaigning for a charity in Birmingham,…read morewalking around with my Manchester City shirt, I noticed this store and as a football fan, had a walk in to see if Aston Villa's central Birmingham Shop was as bad as well... Aston Villa (Aston Villa fans stop reading now) With a 4-0 victory over Villa, around a month after my visit, I still felt I had bragging rights, when I walked into this store, but still for a club like Aston Villa, who seem to sack their managers everytime something goes wrong (I still don't know why Tim Sherwood went) I was quite surprised, in a good way. This is a pretty cool store, to me it looks quite new and modern, it is on New Street, quite close to both New Street Station, Grand Central and The Bullring, and did have a good selection of jerseys. It also had a good selection of merchandise for Aston Villa fans, and even a ticket office on the top floor. If you're an Aston Villa fan, this is actually quite a good club shop for a soon to be Championship Club and actually can compete with the larger clubs stores in city centers such as Manchester City, and even beating Stoke City's club shop by far. I'm not an Aston Villa fan, but I found this store to be great for Aston Villa supporters to warrant a solid 3 star rating.

I'm not a footie fan myself but have been raised in a household of devout 'Villains', hardcore AVFC…read morefans who don't seem to realise that more often than not their team is a bit rubbish. However, despite my ignorance on the subject of football, every annual Brummy Christmas shopping trip with my mom means a brief visit to the Villa football shop to ensure Santa brings my brother various Villa-shaped goodies. It's a great little shop and sure to please any dedicated fan, with everything from the latest home and away shirts to mugs, pens and fun but throwaway merchandise. At any other time of year, my mom would think it ridiculous to splurge on some of the stuff she's bought here - but, hey, everyone goes a bit mad at Christmas. Ever in need of Villa-branded sweets? I'll try not to judge you if you are. Just know that this place can sort you out if so. The stock is spread over two floors and staff are positioned across the space to help out anyone like me who has zero knowledge of the 'beautiful' game. It's all-encompassing, with items for blokes and ladies - as well as cute little garments for babs, which led to my mom shelling out on some kit for a newborn in the family. Definitely one for Villa devotees, but Birmingham City fans might want to steer clear.

Best customer service! Ordered a deck sorted us out massively and received pretty much next day…read more Shouts out to Kris who I spoke via email, legend ! Vicky

Zippy and Chris have been running Ideal Skateboard Supply for over two decades…read more As well as selling a range of skateboards and accessories (including 'locally grown' produce from A Third Foot), they also have some nice lines in clothing, so even if you don't skate you can pick up some original clothes that no one else might have, or original footwear that you can be an early adopter of. (Skaters were the first to wear Converse and Vans, dontcha know?) The skateboard shop in every town is always the focal point for hanging out, as well as buying skate gear, and Ideal is no exception. On a Saturday here's where skaters meet to group to go off and skate around the city, or to exchange info on the hot skate spots. This shop is not about making a quick buck, and there is a level of philanthropy here, shown by the installation of a work-station where you can fix parts to your board after buying them. You can then skate your newly set-up board in the ramp next door. Ideal.

Ironically, this ugly warehouse-style building by the side of an urban road contains everything you…read moreneed to enjoy the great outdoors. It's recently been taken over and the new manager is really friendly and has introduced some new ranges, so it's well worth a visit. As the name suggests, the focus is on outdoors clothing and equipment, so expect fleeces, walking trousers, raincoats and walking boots. There's also a good range of camping equipment, ranging from tents to caravan gear, camping stove and dubious looking mountain food. Think Millets, but bigger. If you're not used to outdoor shops, it's great fun looking at the gadgets like 'sporks' (half spoon, half fork) and 'platypuses' (water bladders in backpacks with a giant straw). If you are used to outdoor shops, you'll be bound to find something here. I must confess to being a bit of an outdoors snob, but there are some really good bargains here, especially with waterproofs, and you can't go wrong with generic camping bits and bobs. There's even a new and improved rock climbing section with all the basics. It's probably the best place for rock shoes and harnesses in the area and the manager can give some very useful advice. There are sections for fishing, running, cycling and even skiing, and whilst this is in no way a specialist shop for any of them, it's big enough to have a reasonable range of basic items to satisfy the enthusiast's immediate needs. Go and buy lots of fun gadgets and look forward to your holidays, when living in a tent suddenly seems like such a fun idea.

A great place if you like the outdoors as the name implies. They have a great range of products and…read morealso offer a price match policy and they honour it. They offer a discount if you purchase one of there discount cards and it can amount to considerable saving for just £4.00 per year.

What a cornucopia of wonderful jewellery! I could have spent ages just pouring over all the glass…read morecabinets filled with beautiful second hand jewellery. They have an impressive collection of clocks on the wall, but more impressive are the second hand watches in the window outside. The Casio watches caught my eye; they all look in great condition and are not as pricey as I had imagined. As for the jewellery, well there is all sorts really. I spotted a lot of cameo brooches, earrings and pendants which are quite fashionable these days across all generations. The rings and earrings generally were very beautiful. They also have wedding rings, charms, christening spoons and cheap costume jewellery. This place really reminds me of one of the copious amounts of second hand jewellery shops you find down the Lanes in Brighton.

Long established jewellery shop and watch repairers in Harborne - Gwinnett and Burkill can be found…read moreat the top end of the High Street by Waitrose. As well as stocking an impressive selection of watches from the Swatch, Timex and Seconda ranges they also stock watch straps and batteries and will fit both for you free of charge. More expensive items - including wedding and engagement rings can be found in the shop window but they also specialise in second hand gold and silver jewellery and have bought gold long before Cash Converters and the like got in on the act and these tend to be held in a variety of tantalising display cabinets inside the store. This is a great place to pick up an unusual present - money clips, charms and charm bracelets, pill boxes and christening spoons can be found here. Staff are more than happy to help - I tend to go in with a sum in mind and they will recommend pieces to match (my often ahem meagre) budget.