AllSaints this week revealed plans to open a host of new stores across the UK, US, Europe, and Asia as it steams ahead with its global expansion plans.
Today, the fashion retailer, will open a new store on Brompton Road, London in time for the peak Christmas trading season.
It also recently opened stores in Liverpool One, Outletcity Metzingen, Germany, and its first Chinese outlet store in Shanghai Village.
But AllSaints is not alone. There are other fashion retailers on the expansion trail. Retail Gazette takes a look.
JD Sports
Last year, JD Sports set out plans to become the “leading global sports-fashion powerhouse” under new CEO Régis Schultz’s five-year growth plan.
It revealed it would invest in expansion in underpenetrated markets, opening between 250 to 350 new stores each year.
High-profile branches opening this year include its revamped Westfield Stratford store, a global flagship on Champs-Élysées in Paris, and it will soom open its new Manchester’s Trafford Centre, which will become its biggest global flagship when it opens next year.
Primark
Primark’s small format stores in Montijo, Portugal
Value fashion giant Primark is rolling out stores in its growth markets in Europe and the US, where boss George Weston says there is “significant white space for new stores”, which would help it drive “sustainable growth over the medium and long term”.
It expects new stores to contribute around 4% to 5% per year to Primark’s total sales growth for the foreseeable future.
The fashion chain also unveiled its first small format store in Montijo on the outskirts of Portugal last month, as revealed by Retail Gazette, which opens the opportunity to expand in more regional locations.
Primark already has a second small format store planned in Bolton, Greater Manchester.
Mango
Back in May, Mango unveiled plans to open more than 20 new stores this year as it looks to bolster its presence in the UK.
The Spanish fashion retailer will grow its footprint in London and Scotland, as well as opening in Northern Ireland, central and southern England for the first time.
During the summer it opened a new store at Gateshead’s Metrocentre this summer, its biggest one in the region, and its first store dedicated to teenagers in the UK, off Carnaby Street in London.
Sosandar
Online Sosandar brand has firmly embraced physical retail, as it plans to open up to 50 stores.
The fashion retailer’s joint chief executive Julie Lavington told The Times that the business was “targeting around 50 [shops] in total” over the next three to five years.
Sosandar opened its first stores in Chelmsford in Essex, Marlow in Buckinghamshire, the Metrocentre in Gateshead and St David’s in Cardiff.
The openings following a successful partnership with Sainsbury’s, that saw the brand’s clothes stocked in the grocer’s supermarkets.
Lounge Underwear
Last July, Lounge Underwear said it would open eight stores across the next 12 months as part of its ambitious expansion plans.
The brand launched its first shop at Westfield White City, London last September after 7 years of trading solely online.
It has since opened stores in locations including Manchester’s Trafford Centre, Trinity Leeds and Cabot Circus in Bristol, and vowed to open 8 stores within a year.
Charles Tyrwhitt
Earlier this year Charles Tyrwhitt opened a 4,200 sq ft store on Regent Street, London, marking its eighth opening in a year.
The shirtmaker is targetting more retail space across the UK as it plans to open 10 more stores over the next 18 months.
Castore
Since launching in 2016, sportswear brand Castore has grown to more than 30 stores, including 16 in the UK.
Recent stores include Milton Keynes, Derby, Leicester, Dublin and in Dubai Mall.
Castore co-founder Tom Beahon said that “it was clear to us from the beginning that physical retail had an important role to play from both a revenue generation and brand building perspective”.
He told Drapers: “Our mission is for Castore to become the leading British sportswear brand competing on the global stage – the openings of flagship stores in key locations will play a central role in our strategy.”
Mountain Warehouse
In its year to February 25, outdoor clothing specialist Mountain Warehouse opened 28 stores, and 20 more since the year end.
The new stores included 21 in the UK where it more than doubled the size of its Covent Garden branch and took on the ex-Wilko site in Cornwall.
It has opted to open much larger stores, including some in retail parks, such as Bedford Retail Park, Maybird Retail Park in Stratford-upon-Avon, Malvern Shopping Park and Tunbridge Wells Shopping Park.
Mountain Warehouse has also opened overseas, including its first Australian store in Brisbane.
The retailer plans to open up to 50 more branches and relocations globally in its current financial year.
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