The UK was the first European country Uniqlo entered when it began expanding to the continent decades ago and it still rates the market highly with new plans announced to open a number of stores in Britain.
A rendering of the planned Birmingham store
It will debut in Glasgow and Birmingham this autumn and has also confirmed its opening date for Liverpool — 24 April.
With the large size of the stores Uniqlo opens, these are major investments for parent company Fast Retailing and the Japanese group said they’re building on the recent successful new store openings in Edinburgh and London.
Given the firm’s well-established UK presence, it’s easy to forget how many key cities still don’t have a Uniqlo. The very first Scottish store on Princes Street store in Edinburgh opened only last April and so the planned Glasgow arrival will be only its second Scottish space. It will be on Argyle Street in the heart of Scotland’s most populous city, with three floors of sales, equating to 1,200 sq m.
Meanwhile, the planned new Birmingham store will be Uniqlo’s first in the Midlands and will be located in the Bullring on New Street. It will have a sales floor of approximately 1,100 sq m, again covering three storeys to make the most of the footfall to the giant mall in the country’s second-largest city.
The product mix will feature LifeWear for all genders and all ages including kids and babies.
Paul O’Brien, Director of Leasing & Commercialisation at Bullring landlord Hammerson, said: “Bullring continues to attract best-in-class global brands seeking a flagship presence in the region, reinforcing its position as the leading Midlands destination. Uniqlo is the latest brand to make a significant commitment to Bullring, reflecting the strength of our position, quality of the asset, and exceptional line-up of leading names in retail.”
As mentioned, the Liverpool store will open in late April at the now-Landsec-controlled Liverpool One mega-mall. Located on Paradise Street, the large new store will feature Uniqlo’s popular services such as UTme! customisable T-shirt station and a dedicated Re.Uniqlo Studio for repairs and recycling.
It’s also collaborating with local partners for the opening with the activity set to kick off via Girls On The Go Liverpool, an organisation that promotes women’s health and empowerment and that will be hosting Uniqlo run clubs in the lead up to opening day.
The company currently has 20 UK stores, all of them large-format locations, with the most recent opening having been another London store, in Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross.
M&S Gemini, on Warrington’s Europa Boulevard, has reopened following a major 10-month makeover “to cater to a wider range of customer shopping missions”.
Reuters
Featuring a refreshed Cothing and Hsome area and enhanced Beuty department, the timely reopening features the brand’s SS25 collections across womenswear, menswear and kidswear. There are also neon-lit areas to spotlight “M&S customer-favourite collections” including Per Una and Autograph and Jaeger.
Third-party brand offers also include a dedicated Mamas & Papa’s section adjacent to kidswear while other highlights include an improved M&S Footwear selection with a spacious try-on area, plus in-store bra- and suit-fitting services.
The expanded Beauty department is home to all M&S’s third-party and own brands, including the Apothecary collection, while showcasing a range of Clinique, Benefit Cosmetics and Estée Lauder fragrance products.
Dedicated Beauty Advisors are on hand while there’s colleague support to offer styling advice, and a new option that allows customers to skip the queues and pay straight away in its store fitting rooms. The Click and Collect service is also available on all its online Clothing, Home and Beauty orders.
Influencer Vogue Williams has launched a new kidswear line called Gen with M&S and Next becoming the first online platforms to bring the unisex childrenswear concept to market.
The line, which “reimagines childrenswear” has a focus on “versatility, durability, and timeless design”, we’re told.
Williams curated the pieces and said the launch responds to the growing demand for longer-lasting fashion.The result is a “unique, high-quality range that allows customers to shop freely without the constraints of traditional gendered clothing”.
The age 2-8 collection of essentials includes coats, waterproof onesies, dungarees and short-and-T-shirt sets, boldly coloured with pops of neon and fun prints, while “breaking the traditional boundaries of gendered clothing”. Prices range from £10-£34.
Each piece can be personalised with patches and features a unique ‘Wear Me, Love Me, Pass Me On’ label, “encouraging a culture of sharing and customiaation that makes each garment cherished keepsake while promoting the joy of passing on well-loved pieces”.
Williams said: “Finding high-quality, super-cute clothes for kids that actually last is not easy. I really feel like the Gen range hits all those needs. Kids… get to customise their own piece, whether it’s the first or third child along the line.”
It’s produced by Poeticgem Group and marketed via its subsidiary Luminoso Brands. Gavin Foster, managing director of the latter, said: “Vogue’s styling, vision and authentic voice has been key to the success in securing these fantastic retail partners and we look forward to forging a long term partnership with all parties.”
Italian eyewear group Marcolin has improved its profitability in the course of fiscal 2024. The group’s financial results, approved this week by the board of directors, showed adjusted EBITDA at €85 million, a 10.2% rise over fiscal 2023. The EBITDA margin on net sales also improved, growing to 15.6% compared to 13.8% in the previous year.
Marcolin – Ansa
Revenue was €545.8 million, down 2.2% at current exchange rates compared to revenue in fiscal 2023. In like-for-like terms, excluding the positive and negative impacts of the new licenses signed up in 2024 and discontinued ones, revenue increased by 1.7%.
On LinkedIn, Marcolin said that “during the year, alongside important licence renewals, Marcolin secured new exclusive agreements, and continued the commercial integration of the new house brand ic! berlin into the group.”
The company makes eyewear for Tom Ford, Adidas, Guess, Max Mara, Pucci, Zegna, Skechers, and Abercrombie & Fitch, among others.