Hobbs heads to Atria Watford for latest store opening

Hobbs has just opened a new 3,300 sq ft store within Charter Place at Atria Watford shopping centre, marking the latest UK retail expansion for the British womenswear brand.

The store, which has a stone style entrance, contemporary soft furnishings and a carefully selected colour scheme, is carrying the brand’s "everyday" pieces, workwear, occasion outfits – with selected styles in sizes 6-22 – and its petite offering.

It also has a personal styling service, with a team who are "experts at providing flattering outfit solutions for every customer".

Atria Watford is owned by property company SGS and asset managed by Global Mutual in conjunction with Savills as property managers. Steve Gray, Head of European Retail Asset Management at Global Mutual, said: "Hobbs is a great addition to Atria Watford and we are excited to see the new store welcome shoppers.

"The brand joins a string of new names at the centre and its offer aligns exactly with what we want to give our visitors – quality, choice and excellent in-store experiences."

Other popular brands in Charter Place, which is now fully let for first time since the development completed in 2019, include NEXT and ZARA – both of which have made significant investments in their stores. In 2022, NEXT opened a 94,000 sq ft store combining home, beauty and fashion, and ZARA recently opened a two-story store spanning 43,000 sq ft which represents a significant upsize - over doubling the size of its previous unit which was 18,000 sq ft.

Gray added: "We are delighted that Charter Place has reached the significant milestone of being fully let following completion of the extension in 2019. The development has attracted a strong line-up of brands and provided a real boost to centre footfall and spend."