In Review 2023: Store openings, refurbs and expansions

2023 has seen a lot of change in the fashion and retail industry, with many high-profile fashion businesses opening new retail locations, upsizing existing stores and introducing new technologies.

As we approach 2024, TheIndustry.fashion has curated a list of the top ten important updates and openings from the past year.

Footasylum opened a technologically advanced flagship store on Oxford Street

In September, Footasylum opened the doors to its flagship store at 73-89 Oxford Street in London, as it continues to see strong demand for its branded streetwear offering.

The 20,000 sq ft store, which was previously home to New Look, trades across two floors with additional customer service and click-and-collect lockers located in the basement. Reflecting customer’s demand for experimental stores, the new store will house digital capabilities such as digital signage.

The company also upsized a number of its existing sites at Westfield Stratford City, Lakeside Shopping Centre, Birmingham Bullring and Leeds White Rose.

Footasylum

Joe Browns opened the doors to its first-ever franchise store

Fashion and homeware retailer Joe Browns, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, opened the doors to its first franchise store in Bowness-on-Windemere’s Queen Square in Cumbria.

Partnering with successful retail entrepreneurs Adrian and Julie North, the opening marks the first franchise store for Joe Browns. The retailer confirmed back in March that it has plans to open 10 new stores across the UK by the end of 2024, though it is not clear how many others will be franchises.

Joe Browns

Rixo opened 'House of Rixo' flagship store with sustainability at its core

In April the 8-year-old brand opened a flagship store on London's King’s Road, bringing back its print-led contemporary designs to the historic area.

Rixo's new store replaces its previous location on King's Road and follows the opening of other stores on Marylebone High Street and Carnaby Street.

Described as a true ‘House of Rixo’, the store features multiple initiatives in line with its sustainability journey, encouraging customers to buy less and wear more. One initiative is Rixo Rental, offering customers the chance to rent their favourite pieces for special occasions.

Rixo

Marks & Spencer delivered its plans to open 20 "bigger and better" stores

In January, Marks & Spencer revealed plans to ramp up its store overhaul with 20 new shops across the UK in a move that will create more than 3,400 jobs.

Over the next financial year, the business plans to open eight full-line stores in shopping centres such as the Bullring in Birmingham and the Trafford Centre in Manchester, as well as retail parks and high streets across key cities.

The openings form part of Marks & Spencer's goal to become "the UK's leading omnichannel retailer", with its store rotation programme at the centre of this ambition.

In November alone, M&S opened nine new stores as it continued to strengthen its brick-and-mortar offering throughout the UK.

Marks & Spencer

Inditex opened the UK's first Oysho store in Westfield London

The sports brand of the Inditex group, Oysho, opened its first store in the UK at Westfield London in Shepherd’s Bush.

The brand revealed its expansion plans are due to "reaffirming the impulse towards the world of sports and consolidating the renewed image of the brand and its new concept of shopping experience".

The new 3,500 sq ft retail space is divided into two floors and boasts an eight-meter high glass façade. Three self-payment terminals have been installed in the retail space, allowing shoppers to independently complete their purchases. Click and collect is also available on-site

Oysho

Zara upsized several stores as part of an "ongoing store optimisation"

Inditex Group-owned Zara opened a new flagship store at Trinity Leeds, upsizing and relocating into the centre from its location at Briggate.

The retailer also returned to the North East's Metrocentre in October after undergoing a major refurbishment and more than doubling in size of their retail unit.

Both stores showcase the latest technological innovations from Zara, integrating the online experience with brick-and-mortar retail.

Zara is also set to open a 43,000 sq ft store in the Atria Watford retail and leisure destination in early 2024, replacing a smaller 18,000 sq ft store.

Zara

Flannels opened a "ground-breaking" flagship store at Gateshead’s Metrocentre

In November, Frasers Group opened a 50,000 sq ft Flannels flagship store at the Metrocentre in Gateshead, bringing a “ground-breaking fashion and beauty experience to the North of England” as the group continues its elevation strategy.

The store boasts an expansive new luxury fashion edit as well as Flannels’ first Burberry and Moncler fragrance counters, and an edit of leading beauty names such as Dior, Chanel, Creed, and Dolce & Gabbana Beauty - which made its first bricks-and-mortar Flannels debut, revealing a never been seen before design.

Flannels

BOSS upsized with an elevated flagship at Liverpool ONE

BOSS, which has made record-breaking revenues this year, opened a new upsized store at Liverpool ONE in July as part of a "strategic move to elevate the experience at one of its best-performing locations".

The relocation signals a 130% upsize in the brand's total trading area, with the 13,500 sq ft flagship store providing "even greater capabilities to showcase the brand’s premium apparel".

Designed by the brand’s in-house team, the new store on Paradise Street offers customers a bespoke made-to-measure service, personal styling appointments and click and click-and-collect facilities.

BOSS

Kurt Geiger opened a flagship store on London’s Oxford Street

British footwear and accessories brand Kurt Geiger opened a 2,916 sq ft flagship shop at 272-274 Oxford Street in London.

Envisioned by Kurt Geiger’s Chief Creative Officer, Rebecca Farrar-Hockley, and brought to life by architect Stefano Ripoli, formerly of David Collins Studio, the new store “celebrates London’s creativity and individuality”.

Kurt Geiger’s visual signatures appear subtly throughout the store’s design, with antiqued brass eagles - the brand’s primary motif - featuring on signage, door handles and internal cabinetry, which is quilted in the same parquet pattern as the leather goods.

Kurt Geiger

FRAME deployed AI for a new retail concept in Marylebone

Not only has AI seen increasing popularity this year, but so has Marylebone High Street. In addition to new Derek Rose and Sézane stores, FRAME has unveiled a new retail concept in London's Marylebone. However, FRAME's new store was conceived with the help of AI.

Erik Torstensson, co-founder of the Californian-based brand, is an early adopter of AI and implemented the technology to inform the design and development of the space.

The concept took inspiration from the brand's Los Angeles home through the use of materials and the treatment of light. The wood, stone texture, lighting, and furniture depict an "evolved Californian cultural landscape", which sits at the intersection of art, design, and fashion.

FRAME