In Review, September 2024: Frasers, LFW and Gymshark topped this month's news agenda
September, otherwise known as 'Fashion Month', has been a chaotic month of city and show hopping. Starting off strong at New York Fashion Week, Tory Burch, Prabal Gurung and more took to the runway. Then, at TheIndustry.fashion's hometown of London, we saw standout shows from JW Anderson, Roksanda and more.
In the midst of Paris Fashion Week and as the sun sets on September, TheIndustry.fashion took a breather to reflect on this month's slew of openings, brand activations and city-wide fashion celebrations.
This month saw LFW40 host nation-wide activations with retailers taking advantage of increased footfalls. London's shopping streets were flooded with fashion lovers and shoppers galore. After the festivities took place, summer came to an official close, although it is difficult to recall its start, shoppers headed back to the high street to build their much-awaited fall fashion wardrobes.
Molly-Mae's fashion line launched, selling out overnight, Umar Kamani returned to PrettyLittleThing and Frasers set itself a new task to reinvent the department store. Here are some of the news highlights from an action-packed four weeks.
New Openings
River Island to 'completely revamp' largest store in North East
River Island announced that it is undertaking a comprehensive refurbishment of its 25,500 sq ft store at Metrocentre to create a "best-in-class shop fit and refreshed shopping experience", at the largest River Island store in the North East.
The revamped store, located in the Red Mall, will feature a brand-new interior. It will offer "an elevated shopping experience" with curated collections, a digital fitting room and exclusive product edits.
Scamp & Dude opened doors to biggest store to date
British womenswear brand Scamp & Dude opened the doors to a 1,938 sq ft store in Manchester, marking its sixth UK location and largest retail space to date.
The opening weekend kicked off with an opening party with 150 of the brand's loyal Manchester community, during which, guests got an exclusive preview of the AW24 collection. As part of the celebrations, five lightning bolts were hidden around Manchester and five shoppers won £100 vouchers to spend in-store.
Castore continued retail roll-out with new store at Braehead in Glasgow
British sportswear brand Castore opened a new 1,482 sq ft store at Braehead Shopping Centre in Renfrew, on the outskirts of Glasgow, as its UK retail roll-out pushes on.
It follows the opening of Castore’s new store at the Derbion Shopping Centre in Derby in August, and its flagship store opening at Centre:mk in Milton Keynes in July.
Peter Alexander announced high impact UK launch including three new stores
Australian premium sleepwear and lifestyle brand Peter Alexander is headed to the UK with a website and three new, high-impact stores planned.
The popular brand, which operates 135 stores across Australia and New Zealand, will first launch online in the UK next month with the retail stores due to open in November. It identified three of the UK's most high-profile shopping malls for its debut in this market with Westfield White City opening on 2 November, Westfield Stratford City on 9 November, and Bluewater Kent on 23 November.
Nadine Merabi's party wear came to London with permanent flagship
British womenswear brand Nadine Merabi brought its glamour-infused partywear to the streets of London at its first permanent flagship store.
Due to the huge success of its six-week South Molton pop-up shop, the brand has returned to the capital with a permanent store, just in time for what they dubbed the 'Merabi season' - otherwise known as party season. The flagship store "allows customers the opportunity to see and experience the quality, craftsmanship" of Merabi garments first-hand.
In Pictures: Uniqlo unveiled new Coal Drops Yard store
Uniqlo opened a new 8,611 sq ft store across three floors at Coal Drops Yard in London’s King’s Cross, in what used to be home to the 2,500 capacity Bagleys night club – once a big part of London’s rave scene.
Housed in an iconic location with a rich cultural heritage, the building was originally a Victorian coal drops shed built in 1851, and now some of its old brickwork is juxtaposed with Uniqlo's modern store design with the retailer’s distinctive red and white logo.
Outlet Shopping at The O2 enhanced footwear offer with Clarks and Soletrader
Outlet Shopping at The O2 announced that British footwear brand Clarks made its grand return to the centre, along with multi-brand footwear retailer Soletrader.
Clarks returned to Outlet Shopping at The O2 after three years, opening a 3,259 sq ft store adjacent to Skechers and Lids. This coincided with the recent arrival of Soletrader, which opened a 1,749 sq ft store on the upper level next to Procook and Carvela. Partnering with brands such as Dr Marten, Veja, and Ugg since its inception, Soletrader delivers a varied range of contemporary footwear.
Gymshark to ramp up retail roll-out with four more store openings
Gymshark announced it will be opening its first permanent store outside of the UK - on the ground floor of the Dubai Mall in the UAE - towards the end of 2024.
Big Name Moves

Adam Frisby of In The Style
Founder Adam Frisby announced his departure from In The Style
Adam Frisby is stepping away from In The Style, the online fashion brand he founded 11 years ago. In a post on Instagram, Frisby shared it was with a "heavy heart" that he would "no longer be part of In The Style".
"This really hasn’t been an easy decision for me and since stepping down as CEO at the end of 2023 I’ve tried my hardest to continue to make things work, but despite my best efforts, it’s now a decision I’ve had to make," the post continues.
Umar Kamani returns to PrettyLittleThing with 'renewed focus' on customer journey
Umar Kamani returned to the helm of PrettyLittleThing, marking the beginning of a "new chapter" for the fast fashion giant following his exit from the company last year.
Announcing the news on Instagram, Kamani – who founded the business with his brother in 2012 - said he brings a "renewed focus" to put customers at the forefront of every decision PrettyLittleThing makes moving forward.
Nike veteran replaced John Donahoe as CEO
Nike appointed Elliott Hill as its new President and Chief Executive Officer, replacing John Donahoe, who will retire next month after more than four and a half years in the role.
Caroline Rush stepped down as CEO of the British Fashion Council
Caroline Rush CBE is stepping down as CEO of the British Fashion Council in June 2025, following 16 years in the role.
Rush joined the British Fashion Council in 2009 and has led the organisation through significant change, providing a blueprint for fashion councils to support emerging talent around the world.
Gymshark strengthened its leadership team with new Chief People Officer
Gymshark named Sian Keane as its new Chief People Officer, marking the latest in a series of senior appointments for the brand.
Keane joined Gymshark following 11 years at Farfetch, the last six of which she has held the position of Chief People Officer. Prior to this, she held multiple senior roles in the recruitment sector.
Frasers Continues to Grow
Frasers has earned its very own section as there is never a dull moment when it comes to the British retail supergroup. Frasers not only opened its new combined Frasers and Sports Direct store in an effort to redefine department stores, but in even bigger news, it made a bid for struggling fashion brand Mulberry.
New combined Frasers and Sports Direct flagship opened at Sheffield’s Meadowhall
On 25 September, Frasers Group opened the doors to its latest combined Frasers and Sports Direct flagship store, totalling 100,000 sq ft, at the Meadowhall Shopping Centre in Sheffield.
It’s the culmination of a multi-million-pound investment in what was the former Debenhams space at Meadowhall, with Frasers taking 45,000 sq ft on the ground floor and Sports Direct taking 55,000 sq ft on level one of The Avenue at Meadowhall. The new store marks the 13th new Frasers store and the eleventh that has been combined with Sports Direct since 2021.
Frasers Group made a bid for struggling luxury brand Mulberry
Frasers Group made an £83 million takeover bid for struggling handbag maker Mulberry.
The British fashion brand has been hit hard by a downturn in the luxury sector and warned late last week that it would need to raise cash amid concerns about its long-term future.
Frasers Group, which owns Sports Direct and Flannels, already has a 37% stake in the company. It sits behind majority shareholder Chalice, which possesses a 56.14% stake.
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