Retail Recap: The important openings and partnerships in October 2022

As the UK economy continued to dominate the news agenda, October saw an influx of store openings nationwide and a few permanent retail closures.

The value of the pound rallied back to its highest levels since before Liz Truss’s mini-budget, as Rishi Sunak was confirmed as the new Prime Minister. Business leaders have now called on Rishi Sunak to end recent “political and economic uncertainty” as markets rallied somewhat on his selection as the next prime minister.

Battersea Power Station opened its doors to the public on 14 October, alongside a new pedestrianised high street, Electric Boulevard, following a transformational eight-year restoration.

Transport for London opened the Elizabeth Line station at Bond Street on 24 October. According to a report by Colliers Retail Strategy & Analytics, the tube line is expected to be the main mode of transport for 13% of visitors into the West End by 2023, with a 30% increase at Bond Street.

This month also saw postal workers launch a fresh strike in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions, with more walkouts planned in the build up to the busy Christmas period.

Here is a list of the all the retail stores that have opened and shut this month, as well as a number of partnerships from brands including Zara, Rixo and Boohoo.

Store openings

Coach opens ‘Tomorrow’s Vintage’ pop-up store in London’s Spitafields Market

Coach, best known for its quality leather bags and accessories, opened its first-ever pop-up concept store in London, called ‘Tomorrow’s Vintage’. The store, which will run until 16 January 2023 is a celebration of the Coach ‘(Re) Loved’ programme, which is described as “a circular ecosystem for refurbishing, reimagining and recycling pre-loved products”.

In Pictures: Gymshark's first ever store on Regent Street

Gymshark has gone big with its first bricks & mortar store, taking a 18,000 sq ft premium retail unit on London's Regent Street. The store stays true to Gymshark's roots and is designed to foster a spirit of community among its millennial consumer base with fitness classes, expert advice, and an events space for staging podcasts, panel talks and screenings.

Online watch retailer WatchPilot to open first high street store in Richmond

Men’s and women’s online watch retailer WatchPilot, which was founded in 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic, announced the opening of its first physical store at 6 George Street in Richmond, Surrey, on 3 November 2022.

Sweaty Betty opens concept store at Battersea Power Station

Activewear brand Sweaty Betty unveiled its first concept store ‘The Powerhouse' at London’s latest shopping destination, Battersea Power Station. At 2,400 sq ft, the new unit is the brand’s largest out of 84 stores across the globe.

Beaverbrooks opens upsized store at Merry Hill

Beaverbrooks, the family-owned national diamond, jewellery and watch retailer, opened its upsized store at Merry Hill Shopping Centre. Beaverbrooks invested over £1 million to refit the new store, demonstrating its commitment to the destination.

Rixo to open new store on Carnaby Street

Womenswear label Rixo announced the opening of its new store at 44 Carnaby Street, bringing its print-led contemporary designs to the West End. Rixo's third permanent store on the historic Carnaby Street follows two other London stores, located on King's Road and Marlyebone High Street.

LK Bennett opens new outlet store at Gunwharf Quays

LK Bennett opened a new outlet location at Gunwharf Quays on 20 October. The Gunwharf Quays store showcases the brand's new AW22 collection, as well as pieces from the SS22 and AW21 collections. The store also offers a large selection of the brands shoes and accessories, hand-crafted in Italy and Spain.

JD Sports upsizes to new store in Cambridge's The Grand Arcade

JD Sports upscaled its presence in Cambridge, relocating its store from Lion Yard Shopping Centre to The Grand Arcade. The 13,902 sq ft space provides an enhanced product proposition for consumers and sees significant improvement in trading space, almost doubling in size from the unit at the Lion Yard.

In Pictures: Foot Locker opens new tech driven store at Westfield Straford

Foot Locker opened a new 10,000 square metre store at Westfield Stratford, offering an "elevated retail experience" designed to inspire youth culture and build communities. The new store combines premium product and elevated in-store presentations, as well as enhanced technology driven customer experiences and events.

Frasers opens new store in Ireland

Frasers Group opened a new Frasers store at Whitewater Shopping Centre in Newbridge, Ireland. Located in a former Debenhams location, Frasers Group transformed the building into the "ultimate shopping destination" with a focus on experience, brands and service. The 30,000 sq ft store features a range of beauty, fashion and lifestyle products.

In Pictures: Superdry's 5,676 sq ft Battersea Power Station store

Superdry was among the first wave of an array of British and international brands to open inside Battersea Power Station’s Turbine Halls. Inspired by London thrift stores and vintage Americana, the new store stocks the brands authentic apparel collection and a full range of accessories.

In Pictures: the new Zara flagship in Battersea

Zara opened its latest flagship – a two-storey, online-integrated space – housed in a new building, which forms part of the Battersea Power Station complex. The tech-driven store offers womenswear, menswear, home and childrenswear in a new format, which marks the brand's proposed approach to larger stores globally.

In Pictures: Gilly Hicks opens first standalone store in Ireland

Activewear and lifestyle brand Gilly Hicks opened a standalone store in Belfast's Victoria Square. The new store follows the opening of a standalone store at London's Carnaby Street earlier this year.

Legendary tailor Edward Sexton returns to Savile Row with new flagship store

Tailor and fashion designer Edward Sexton opened a new flagship store at 35 Savile Row. Designed in collaboration with interior designer Daniel Hopwood, the new store “brings the Sexton story full-circle”, and represents a homecoming to the street in what is 79 year-old Sexton’s sixth decade of working in bespoke tailoring.

Carnaby’s first permanent “vintage and designer” Mind charity shop to open

Mental health charity Mind opened Carnaby’s first permanent charity shop, selling vintage and designer clothing and accessories. New stock is added daily, including a carefully curated selection from designer brands such as Givenchy, Vivienne Westwood, Burberry and Louis Vuitton.

Scotch & Soda opens two new London stores

Amsterdam-based lifestyle and fashion brand Scotch & Soda opened two new stores, located at Covent Garden and Old Spitalfields Market in London. The Scotch & Soda flagship at Covent Garden features the brand's new “Free Spirit” store design concept.

Nike joins Battersea Power Station retail development

Nike joined the mix of British and international brands to open at Battersea Power Station and on Electric Boulevard on 14 October. The new store focuses on serving consumers in the Battersea neighbourhood and spans approximately 8,380 sq ft.

Ted Baker to open store at Basingstoke’s Festival Place

Ted Baker signed a 10-year lease on a 3,300 sq ft store at Basingstoke’s Festival Place shopping centre. The new ground floor store will carry Ted Baker’s full range of womenswear, menswear and accessories.

Size? to debut new store concept at Liverpool ONE

Size? has announced it will open a new store at Liverpool ONE, debuting its brand new store design concept. The 2,734 sq ft store will open on Peter’s Lane this winter, relocating from its current Liverpool store.

Store closures

Philip Start to close legendary menswear boutique Mr Start

Philip Start announced the closure of his East London menswear store Mr Start to dedicate his time to "new projects and new passions". The Mr Start store in Rivington Street, Shoreditch, will close its doors for good at the end of December, having first opened in 2008.

Coca-Cola to close Covent Garden concept store in December

Coca-Cola is reportedly set to close its London flagship concept store in December 2022. The retail location first opened in April 2022 and was the first of its kind in Europe, offering a range of limited-edition apparel collections, exclusive designer collaborations, gift items and unique drinks.

Marks & Spencer to accelerate plans to shut quarter of larger stores

Marks & Spencer said it is seeking to speed up a major shake-up of its stores estate, which will result in the closure of 67 larger shops. The retailer stressed that the previously announced closures would be more than offset by new openings as the group seeks to focus more on its grocery business and online operations.

Partnerships

Square and Clearpay partner with BFC to help emerging designers launch online

E-commerce solutions specialist Square Online, and payments provider and shopping service Clearpay, announced a bespoke programme in partnership with the British Fashion Council to support emerging British designers in launching their ecommerce channels.

Boohoo partners with DHL for US expansion

DHL is supporting existing client Boohoo on its expansion into the US by opening a 1.1 million sq ft facility based in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. DHL Supply Chain is also managing the company's first distribution centre on US soil, despite already shipping to the destination.

InPost partners with Transport for Greater Manchester

InPost continued its growth across the UK with a new partnership with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). The initiative includes the completion of 28 parcel lockers at bus and Metrolink stations across Greater Manchester by the end of 2022.

Marvel continues partnership with The Prince’s Trust to support aspiring designers

Marvel entered the second phase of a three-year partnership with the youth-centric charity The Prince’s Trust, providing support to aspiring product designers. The partnership features a ‘Get Started in Product Design with Marvel’ mentorship scheme, for those who wish to pursue a career in the design industry.

KIDLY launches own label partnership with Next

Online childrenswear retailer KIDLY announced the launch of its partnership with Next to sell a curated edit of its own label collection - for the first time outside of its own channels. The partnership allows KIDLY to increase brand awareness across its target market and access new international markets.

Google and Ellesse collaborate for one-off nameless trainer drop

Google and Ellesse collaborated with footwear customiser MattB to create a limited-edition nameless trainer, only available via posters and on social media by using the Google App. The mixed-media custom design on Ellesse’s new all-white trainer design was a never-seen-before design and merges fine art with digital culture.

Avery Dennison collaborates with inclusive footfall teams for new project

Global materials science company Avery Dennison announced its partnership with  South London Laces and Manchester Laces to provide branding and promotion for its inclusive women's and non-binary people's football teams.

Klarna and Boohoo expand partnership to Ireland

Klarna expanded its partnership with Boohoo Group to bring its ‘Pay in 3’ option to customers in Ireland. Irish online shoppers at Boohoo Group’s brands, including Boohoo, PrettyLittleThing, Dorothy Perkins and Nasty Gal, now have the option to split any purchase into three interest-free instalments.

Mamas & Papas partners with M&S for new shop-in-shops

Marks & Spencer announced its partnership with Mamas & Papas. Launching as a store trial in three regions across the UK, the ‘shop-in-shops’ feature their own till points and dedicated Mamas & Papas experts, who can provide tailored, independent advice and recommendations to parents-to-be and their families.

Girls Aloud's Sarah Harding honoured in new Primark collection

Primark partnered with Girls Aloud members Cheryl, Kimberley, Nadine and Nicola to create a collection of nightwear in honour of their bandmate Sarah Harding, who died from breast cancer last year. In support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Primark is donating 50% of the sale price from the products to Cancer Research UK and The Christie Charitable Fund, with a minimum commitment of £500,000.

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