Exciting new store openings in London, Stockholm & Spain
Two years after the pandemic, physical shopping is on an upward trajectory. Retailers are opening new stores to mark the progress in people revisiting physical stores. We've had a look at who's turning to bricks and mortar in the UK and abroad.
Have a read through the latest Snapshot blog post to see the Exciting new store openings in London, Stockholm and Spain
Lego opens its biggest ever store in London
After four months of refurbishment, Lego has reopened its store in London’s Leicester Square. This opening marks Lego’s biggest store internationally to date. The new extension has generated another 300 square meters on to the previous store, taking the total store size to 805 square metres.
Leister Square saw vast queues of Lego fans outside the store on the morning of the opening. The store had hosted a four-day event for Lego fans across the UK to come and celebrate 90 years of Lego.
The new store houses creative 3D builds inspired by ‘Stories of Britain’. These builds celebrate the country’s icons, heroes, and history.
Are you visiting the store? Make sure to get a selfie with William Shakespeare. You will find Shakespeare positioned at the bus stop waiting for a red double-decker London bus made from 270,884 Lego bricks.
You can also see a Lego model of James Bond’s famous Aston Martin DB5 and Diagon Alley from the Harry Potter films and Sherlock Holmes. Moreover, you can see a Buckingham Palace replica and Big Ben and Spider-Man.
Gymshark opens in Regent Street
Gymshark opened its first-ever bricks and mortar store. The store is located on the iconic Regent Street in London and opened on the 29th of October 2022. The gym-wear retailer aims to bring its gym community closer together than ever before with the new store.
The move to bricks and mortar comes after Gymshark trialled many physical pop-up stores worldwide. The most recent trial was the Deload barber shop in London.
“It’s going to be incredible; it’s going to be experiential, and we want to bring as much of that Gym shark vibe and community into this place.” Ben Francis, CEO and Founder of Gymshark.
The 18,000 square foot flagship store not only sells Gymshark products. Francis has emphasised that the “vast majority” of the store would be used for experiences. This includes areas allocated to workout spaces and to be used for special events.
Icelandic outerwear retailer 66ºNorth opened its first UK flagship in Regent Street, London
The Icelandic clothing brand opened its first UK store in mid-September, marking its first store outside Iceland and Denmark. The 3,500 square foot flagship showcases 66°North's products and gives shoppers who visit an insight into the history and heritage of the Icelandic brand. From their humble beginnings of making clothing for Icelandic seamen, the iconic brand has evolved into a desired outerwear brand that is now internationally thriving.
66ºNorth chief executive Helgi Oskarsson said in an interview: "We are thrilled about opening our new London flagship. London is a fantastic city! Beyond its culture and heritage, it's home to some of the world's best and most influential fashion retail."
66º opened its first store outside of Iceland seven years ago in Copenhagen. Since then, they have been waiting for the right moment to open a London store. The store opening comes as a considerable development for their brand.
Monki opens experiential flagship in Stockholm
The Swedish fashion retail giant H&M Group is transferring the Stockholm flagship for one of its brands, Monki. The fashion retailer has put a great deal of effort and resources into the debut of the new store. The store was launched in September this year.
The new store features an experience and community area and circularity space, a “preloved fashion space”. The store also features an exciting and creative collaboration with illustrator Vanja Ivarsson.
The new store is in the prime location Drottninggatan 53. Covering 550 sq m of “sisterhood, fashion, and a unique store experience”.
The MD of Monki, Jennie Dahlin Hansson, said that launching a flagship “On this iconic shopping street in the capital of Sweden feels right at home for us as a brand. We’re incredibly proud and can’t wait to share this new space with our Stockholm community”.
The community area in the store is a space where shoppers can hang out, interact, and inspire each other. The brand has stated that they want to utilise the space to co-create with up-and-coming collaborators and host events and workshops to offer its customers a wholistic experience.
The Preloved area is the official introduction of the preloved concept to the brand after a pilot period in the Götgatan store. The space is run as a collab with Sellpy and the Monki community to re-sell fashion treasures. The goal is to roll out the concept into more of their stores soon.
Keeping progressive in their concepts, the new flagship store also features a digital checkout counter. Customers can now scan and pay with their phones.
Cos opens its first new concept store in Stockholm
Being its first store in Europe, London -based brand Cos has debuted its more sustainable concept design with the opening of the Stockholm store.
The new store is in Biblioteksgatan, Stockholm. Cos have stated that the two-story store spans 566 square metres. The new store also features 66 percent more recycled material than the original Cos store design. Lloyd Goldby, the global head of growth at Cos, has said in a recent interview that the new opening “marks an important moment” for the brand.
Goldby further stated; “Whether through endlessly recyclable material or by reallocating store material in new openings, our new concept is a huge step towards becoming a more conscious brand, and we are excited to introduce it to more markets in the future.”
Owned by fashion retail giant H&M Group, Cos is aimed at a more minimalist and timeless design aesthetic including wardrobe staples and reinvented classics.
The fashion brand first opened on London’s Regent Street in 2007, before opening an online store in 2011. Today, the brand has a portfolio that spans over 267-stores and is available across Europe, Asia, North America, the Middle East, and Australia. The new Stockholm store is a great addition to its expansive portfolio.
Uniqlo opens its largest store in Madrid Spain
The opening marks the second store the Japanese retailer has in Spain, and the largest. Uniqlo announced its new space at number 37 Gran Via and opened its doors on October the sixth 2022.
The store is over 2,000 square meters and is spread over four stories. Located in an iconic building in the capital, which once housed the historic Avenida movie theatres and the Pasapoga showroom Uniqlo has cemented is presence in the city.
Aesop opens in Spain
Aesop has opened an individual boutique in the middle of Salamanca, Madrid 's most prestigious shopping area. The store is situated on the ground floor of a prestigious office building that was built in 1923 and measures 105 sqm.
The interior design has reserved most the building's original architectural elements while also allowing a great deal of references to the country's cultural legacy.
The interior design was a collaboration between local design studio Ciszak Dalmas and architect Matteo Ferrari, The Store houses the brand's full range of face, body and hair care products, in addition to fragrances and home products.
Stussy Reopens flagship store in Madrid
Stüssy has announced the re-opening of its Madrid Store. The location's return has been launched with the reimagining of the space by Perron-Roettinger for a refreshing visual changeup.
The Madrid Store design showcases straightforward raw materials to evoke a laidback and relaxing shopping experience. A wooden sculpture in the window display aligns with Stüssy’s aesthetic and creates an eye-catching identifier.
Moreover, as an opening offer, Stüssy has put together a T-shirt design in three colourways that are only available at the Madrid Chapter.
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