Retail Recap: The important openings and partnerships of February 2023

Sophie Smith

28 February 2023

February saw an influx of store openings nationwide, as well as a few permanent retail location closures. During the month, UK footfall was boosted by e mployees returning to offices following train strikes and school half terms across the country.

However, new data revealed that retailers have slashed almost 15,000 jobs since the start of 2023 after a raft of collapses and restructurings on the high street.

London Fashion Week took place from 17-21 February 2023, with highlights from Burberry under the new creative direction of Daniel Lee, as well as Christopher Kane, Erdem, JW Anderson, Molly Goddard, Roksanda and Simone Rocha.

TheIndustry.fashion has curated a list of the retail stores that have opened and closed this month, as well as a number of partnerships from businesses including ASOS, Marks & Spencer and New Look.

Store openings

Sweaty Betty selects Liverpool ONE for largest store in North England

Sweaty Betty announced the debut of its largest retail space in the North of England at Liverpool ONE. Set to open in June 2023, the store will be the first Sweaty Betty store in Liverpool, joining the extensive range of premium lifestyle brands on Peter’s Lane.

Hervia reopens Manchester flagship store and HQ following Rami Cassis investment

Following its acquisition by investor Rami Cassis in mid 2022, Manchester-based fashion retailer Hervia reopened its new HQ and flagship store. Housed in a Grade 2-listed former banking hall, the 4,000-square-foot HQ and store provides "ample space for customers to shop".

Jigsaw pieces itself back together with retail expansion plans

Jigsaw announced its plans to open a series of new stores - less than two years after closing a big chunk of its retail portfolio. The womenswear retailer, which shut approximately 30 of its 76 stores as part of restructuring plans in 2020, confirmed the opening of at least three new locations this year - Manchester, Islington, and Kingston.

Monsoon Westfield Stratford

Monsoon unveils first dedicated childrenswear boutique at Westfield Stratford

Monsoon announced the opening of its first dedicated childrenswear boutique at Westfield Stratford. The store is the latest stage in the brand's revamp of its childrenswear offer. This also includes a rebrand of its website and digital channels, as well as the launch of its partywear collection, Land of Wonder.

In Pictures: Peloton Studios London expands retail footprint

Peloton Studios London opened a new retail space in Covent Garden, filled with its latest apparel collections. Located at 12 Floral Street, next door to its Covent Garden studio, the retail space also features a grab & go area food and beverage area.

JD Sports opens third unit at Westfield Stratford following temporary store closure

Following the temporary closure of its original store location, JD Sports opened a third unit at Westfield Stratford shopping centre. The store, located on the Lower Ground Floor level, continues to provide local residents and shoppers with brands including Nike, Adidas, The North Face and Under Armour.

Lucy & Yak Cambridge store opens // campaign imagery staff

Lucy & Yak to continue retail roll out with new Cambridge store

Conscious clothing brand Lucy & Yak announced the opening of its fifth UK store on 15 April 2023, at 36 Green Street in Cambridge. The new store will also act as a Re:Yak hub, where customers can trade in their old ‘Yaks’ in return for money off a new pair of dungarees, or have their items repaired or upcycled in-store as part of the brand’s initiative to keep its clothes in circulation for longer.

Centre:mk signs up Mango following strong 2022 performance

Mango announced its plans to open a new 4,500 sq ft store in Milton Keynes' Centre:mk this summer. The new location is expected to feature its Mediterranean-inspired store concept, ‘New Med’, which is already present in some of the company’s flagship stores around the world.

Pandora plans for ten new UK stores as demand grows

Pandora is to open ten new stores in the UK and Republic of Ireland over the next year. The jewellery brand confirmed that four new brick-and-mortar shops would be in London, with more expected to open in the capital in 2024.

Primark to double presence at Westfield Stratford and create 250 new jobs

Primark is set to double its presence at East London's Westfield Stratford, creating 250 new jobs and expanding from 45,100 sq ft to 81,000 sq ft. The value retailer will complete the expansion by early 2024, promising customers "more of the great style and incredible value they love the most."

Zara to expand presence at Westfield Stratford

Zara is expanding its presence at Westfield Stratford with the opening of another unit at the shopping destination. The new store will be located directly below the current Zara store. It is not yet known if the stores will connect or operate independently, such as the JD Sports in Westfield Stratford.

ME+EM Battersea Power Station

In Pictures: ME+EM opens seventh store at Battersea Power Station

ME+EM, the British label specialising in understated luxury for the modern woman, opened a new store in Battersea Power Station. Located inside the Grade II listed building, the store is spread over 947 sq ft and houses the brand's full range of womenswear, footwear and accessories.

Crew Clothing plans 40 new stores for market towns and coastal resorts

British lifestyle brand Crew Clothing revealed its plans to open 40 new stores in the next three years, focusing its efforts on market towns and coastal resorts. The brand said that further details about the store plans will be revealed in the future as plans are solidified.

TAG Heuer selects Birmingham's Bullring for new concept debut

TAG Heuer announced the opening of its first dedicated boutique in Birmingham at Bullring & Grand Central, marking the luxury brand's first store to feature a new design concept. Located on the Bullring’s upper level, the 1,400 sq ft standalone boutique will elevate TAG Heuer’s presence within the destination, offering its customers a "fully immersive TAG Heuer experience".

Manière De Voir selects London’s Oxford Street for first store

Manière De Voir, which was founded by former professional footballer Reece Wabara, signed a 10-year lease for a 5,189 sq ft retail space at 354 Oxford Street, above Bond Street Tube station. It marks the first physical retail store for the brand, in a building called Oxbourne House - redeveloped by Hines following its acquisition from Transport for London in 2018.

Jigsaw Battersea Power Station

In Pictures: Jigsaw opens at Battersea Power Station

Jigsaw opened the doors of the latest addition to its retail estate – a 1,367 sq ft boutique-style store at the Battersea Power Station development. The British premium brand opened within the restored Grade II-listed Power Station presenting a store designed by AMD Architects to give the feel of a "boutique crossed with a showroom".

Rixo set to open King's Road London flagship in Spring 2023

Rixo announced its plans to open a new store in April 2023 on London's King’s Road, bringing its print-led contemporary designs to the historic area. Rixo's new store replaces its current location on King's Road and follows the opening of other stores on Marlyebone High Street and Carnaby Street.

Store closures

NEXT closes Westfield Stratford location

NEXT closed its retail location in East London's Westfield Stratford shopping centre. The retail location has been closed since Friday 17 February, with newly installed store signage informing customers that they can still shop with the brand online.

Mulberry Bond Street

Mulberry closes Bond Street store in response to VAT-free shopping removal

Mulberry closed its Bond Street store, citing the axing of VAT-free shopping as a "major factor" in the decision. In December 2022, Mulberry CEO Thierry Andretta said that the Government’s move to end tax-free shopping had hammered trading in its high-end stores, particularly the Bond Street outlet.

M&Co to shut all 170 stores this spring after brand is bought

Value clothing chain M&Co announced the closure of its 170 stores after Easter, with the loss of hundreds of jobs. The business appointed administrators for a second time at the end of 2022 and, while the brand was bought by AK Retail Holdings, the acquisition did not include the stores.

Partnerships

M&S teams up with Breast Cancer Now to raise breast cancer symptom awareness

M&S teamed up with Breast Cancer Now to help raise awareness of the correct way to check for breast cancer, installing informational signage in over 2,000 of its fitting rooms across the UK.

True Fit extends Google partnership to optimise data sharing

True Fit, a data-driven fit personalisation platform for fashion retailers and brands, announced an extension of its partnership with Google Cloud to optimise data sharing. The data platform optimises how it serves and shares the data and analytics from its Fashion Genome, the "world's largest connected dataset for fashion and apparel, with its retail and brand partners".

Harold Tillman's EFG partners with Hydrogen Utopia International to provide Fashion Pollution Solution

Ethical Fashion Group (EFG), Co-founded by Harold Tillman CBE – fashion industry veteran and former chair of the British Fashion Council – entered into a strategic partnership with a company that specialises in turning non-recyclable mixed waste plastic into hydrogen and other carbon-free fuels.

New Look

New Look partners with parcelLab to drive customer loyalty

New Look partnered with ParcelLab to enhance its post-purchase experiences for online customers. With the support of ParcelLab, New Look will provide "proactive messaging and personalised communications from purchase to delivery, and beyond".

Very introduces AI to enhance product discovery searches

Very announced its plans to transform the product discovery experience for its customers through a new partnership with the US-based tech platform Constructor. The first phase of the project includes the instalment of search, browse and autosuggest tools across its website and app.

Seasalt partners with Reskinned for pre-loved exchange scheme

Seasalt partnered with Reskinned, the sustainable pre-loved clothing repair and resale specialist, to launch a pre-loved clothing scheme. The partnership allows customers to return pre-loved clothing to be rehomed or recycled, receiving a Seasalt voucher in return. The brand will start re-selling the pre-loved clothing via Reskinned later this year.

ASOS expands its 'Partner Fulfils' service with marketplace platform Mirakl

ASOS expanded its marketplace capabilities, in partnership with SaaS platform Mirakl, allowing third-party brands to broaden the range of inventory made available through the retailer's website. The Partner Fulfils service allows brands to fulfil orders placed via ASOS directly, without the need for the product to be housed in an ASOS warehouse.

Nudie Jeans

Nudie Jeans partners with ACS to bolster repair service

Swedish denim brand Nudie Jeans partnered with Advanced Clothing Solutions (ACS) – the UK’s leading circular fashion hub – to provide the brand with a remote repair service which directly supports the teams at Nudie Jeans Repair Shops.

ASOS partners with GoodWeave to address forced labour in fashion

ASOS joined forces with GoodWeave International, a non-profit organisation working to end child and forced labour. The partnership sees ASOS apply GoodWeave’s approach to its Indian suppliers. Initially focusing on three strategic suppliers in India, the partnership sees them enrolled in the programme, with additional suppliers expected in the following months.

Follow us