Hype to open new stores in Leicester and Portsmouth

Streetwear brand Hype is opening a new 1,195 sq ft store at Highcross shopping centre in Leicester on 23 November 2021, as well as a new 2,236 sq ft outlet store at Gunwharf Keys Designer Outlet in Portsmouth, opening soon.

The Leicester store – in the hometown of Hype founders Liam Green and Bav Samani – comes hot off the heels of the opening of Hype’s new state-of-the-art flagship store at 5-7 Foubert’s Place in Carnaby, London, earlier this month.

The Leicester store design is following the same theme as the new Carnaby store, but adapted to the Highcross shopping experience. It will feature menswear, womenswear, kidswear and the brand’s iconic backpacks. Products will also include a range of unisex designs from the company’s new sustainability-forward brand called Continu8.

The new store features a launch zone area to highlight the latest Hype and Just Hype collections and collaborations.

Bav Samani exclusively told TheIndustry.fashion: “It’s in-line with our UK flagship store activation, and as we have just launched our latest collaboration with Warner Bros' Looney Tunes online yesterday – and in our Carnaby store tomorrow, 20 November, where we will have a meet and greet with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, we want to make this the key visual as you enter the store.”

There will be an in-store activation at Highcross on 27 November, which will include a DJ, branded cupcakes and balloons as well as goody bags for the first 50-100 people to enter the store, plus some additional activations that are currently to be confirmed.

Samani added: “Opening in our home town was only natural to us. Offering the Hype experience and encouraging customers to join us in our bricks and mortar experience is something that we’ve been in talks about for a long time, and now the reality is here.

“Leicester is where Hype was born and it's where our first lighter and script-over floral T-shirt was designed and created. It’s also where our head office and global distribution centre is located, where our friends and family are and, more importantly, where our first ever sale was made.”