MCM switches flagship to Mayfair

Luxury brand MCM has moved its flagship from Sloane Street to Conduit Street in the heart of London's Mayfair.

Munich-based MCM (its initials stand for Modern Creation München) has taken over a store at 16 Conduit Street, which was previously occupied by Christian Dior who opened a new flagship on Bond Street earlier this year. The new MCM store will be officially opened on 6 December to mark the brand's 40th anniversary.

It has signed a 15-year lease on the 2,690 sq ft space at a rent of £470,000 a year in a move handled by Savills. "We are very pleased that a luxury brand of this calibre has chosen Conduit Street after considering the wider Mayfair area,” said Savills head of central London retail Anthony Selwyn. “MCM will be an excellent addition to the street’s burgeoning luxury retail line up.”

MCM has 300 stores globally and is sold in more than 250 wholesale accounts around the world. In the UK it has an outlet store in Bicester Village and is stocked in Selfridges (in London, Birmingham and Manchester), Harvey Nichols (Manchester), Harrods (Knightsbridge), Choice (Kent, Essex, Westfield Stratford) and Giulio (Cambridge). It is also sold on its website.

Founded in 1976 as a luggage brand MCM's initials also denote the year 1900 in Roman numerals, which signifies the age of travel. It became known as the "German Louis Vuitton" in the 1980s and was a favoured brand of the well-heeled jetset, earning it the nickname "More Cash Money".

In the late 1990s its German founder Michael Cromer was investigated for alleged tax evasion and investors lost faith in the brand and its stores and trademark rights were split and sold. In 2005, the Sungjoo Group, led by leading South Korean entrepreneur Sung-Joo Kim acquired the worldwide rights.

Kim installed a new creative director Michael Michalsky and went about rebuilding the brand. It has recently found favour again, particularly in the Asian market, and has declared an ambition to reach $2bn in sales by 2019.