Baileys opens £6.5m centre for aficionados

The Icon bar and restaurant, the entertainment part of Baileys' new £6.5 million investment at the Leopardstown Racecourse, will open to the public today.

Guinness has its visitors' centre, Irish Distillers its Whiskey Corner but R & A Bailey became aware that its flagship brand had no place for visitors to go that would, in the words of its marketing director, Ms Aldagh McDonogh, "bring the brand to life".

Irish consumers have the highest per capita consumption of the drink but it is also available in 130 countries. The company found that overseas consumers who come to Ireland expect to be able to go somewhere to find out more about the brand.

While Icon is clearly branded as a Baileys development, overseas visitors are not the only target market for the massive 20,000 sq. ft bar.

"We're not trying to teach visitors everything about the brand," says Ms McDonogh. "There is a gallery area which goes through the history and development of Baileys and it will cater specifically for the tourist market, but we hope Icon will appeal to the general public as a great place to go to eat and drink."

Icon operates on four levels and has three bars, two of which have been designed in a contemporary style. The third is modelled on a Victorian snug. In addition, there is a restaurant operating on three levels and a streetscape which aims to re-create a Dublin city street.

While Baileys has invested heavily in the development, Icon will be run strictly as a commercial venture by a company called Ubiquity, headed up by former Shelbourne Hotel general manager Mr Donal O'Gallagher. The Baileys Centre is a three-way partnership between the brand, the racecourse and Kilkenny, the fashion and giftware shop, which has a major retail outlet in the centre. Baileys itself will also have a retail presence as the company has developed a range of high end branded goods including Waterford glass with the Bailey's logo, branded leather goods, silk scarves as well as the more predictable tourist oriented T-shirts and postcards.

The mix of products as well as the discreet branding is designed to appeal to the Irish market as much as visiting Baileys aficionados. "Baileys was created in 1974 not 1874, so we're not trying to create a false heritage," says Ms McDonogh. "Instead, we're trying to create an entertainment atmosphere that builds on the brand's marketing strategy with its theme of indulgence."