Crew Clothing planning to open up to 12 new stores in 2022

British lifestyle brand Crew Clothing has revealed plans to open 8 to 12 new stores across the UK and Ireland this year.

CEO David Butler said the brand will focus on acquiring stores in market towns and coastal locations, with three stores expected to open by mid-April; one in Ireland and two in the south-east of England.

The retailer, which launched on Very.co.uk in February, added that the plans comes as a result of the company "testing" store expansions throughout the pandemic.

Butler added that he has "no intention" to seek out stores in large cities, and will instead expand its presence in those locations by focusing on third-party partnerships with retailers including Next and John Lewis.

He added that the company's expansion plans were held back by business rates issues, which resulted in Crew Clothing investing in physical stores, retail and online partnerships across the Republic of Ireland, the Middle East and the Far East.

Crew Clothing currently has around 100 stores in its portfolio, after opening 20 stores across the UK, including Milton Keynes and Exeter in 2020.