Retail Recap: The important openings and partnerships of March 2024

Chloe Burney

28 March 2024

As March comes to a close, the retail sector reflects on a month of highs and lows. This month marks two big retail blows - Matches and Ted Baker were both entered into administration.

Despite this, there have been a slew of positive trading updates from companies such as Inditex, Mango, Abercrombie and NEXT, to name a few.

TheIndustry.fashion has curated a list of the retail stores that have opened this month as well as a number of partnerships from GAP, Adidas and Oliver Peoples.

Store Openings

Fjällräven labelled Sheffield as "perfect location" for the third UK store

Swedish outdoor clothing and equipment brand Fjallraven, known for its popular Kånken bags, strengthened its UK presence with a new, dedicated brand store in Sheffield.

In Pictures: Oysho unveiled its latest London store

Inditex-owned women’s sportswear brand, Oysho, unveiled its new Westfield Stratford City store, its second in the UK.

Arc’teryx placed repairs and renewal at centre of new pinnacle store in London

Arc’teryx Equipment placed its repair and renewal services right at the heart of a pinnacle new store in London's Covent Garden, which is the Canadian brand's largest in Europe.

H&M opened doors to ‘concept store’ in London’s Chelsea

H&M, the retail giant renowned for its affordable fashion, opened a new ‘elevated’ concept store in the heart of London’s affluent neighbourhood, Chelsea.

NEXT to upgrade to former Debenhams unit in Newcastle's Eldon Square

NEXT will upgrade its presence in Newcastle's Eldon Square retail and leisure destination later this year by moving into a former Debenhams unit, enabling it to introduce its new home and beauty department to shoppers in the area.

Kingston's Bentall Centre was next on Phase Eight's hit list

Just when you thought Phase Eight had already spread far and wide across the UK, the premium womenswear retailer has added a new location to its hit list. This time, it opened its doors to shoppers at Bentall Centre in Kingston.

Uniqlo's third Oxford Street store is coming sooner than you think...

Uniqlo has today announced that it will officially open the doors to their not first, not second, but third store on Oxford Street on Thursday 18 April.

Hobbs headed to Atria Watford for its latest store opening

Hobbs opened a new 3,300 sq ft store within Charter Place at Atria Watford shopping centre, marking the latest UK retail expansion for the British womenswear brand.

French Connection made a grand return to Guildford

French Connection opened its latest store in the heart of Guildford's city centre, marking the return to one of the brand’s original retail destinations.

LN-CC re-opened East London store for the first time since the pandemic

Luxury fashion and streetwear retailer LN-CC reopened its store at 18-24 Shacklewell Lane in East London on Saturday 23 March, for the first time since the pandemic struck in 2020.

Abercrombie & Fitch to open flagship store on London’s Oxford Street

Abercrombie & Fitch has "agreed on a multi-year lease" for a new flagship store at 325 Oxford Street, set to open in early 2025.

Sweaty Betty to open new concept store at Bristol’s Cribbs Mall

Activewear brand Sweaty Betty will be opening the latest of its new concept stores at The Mall at Cribbs Causeway in Bristol later this year.

Ben Sherman opened a trial store at London’s Coal Drops Yard

In what is the first move back into physical retail since Ben Sherman announced BSI Apparel as its new licensee in August 2023, the brand opened a one-year trial store on 28 March with the aim "to prioritise full-price retail expansion across the UK".

Charity Super.Mkt opened its next pop-up at Gloucester Quays

Multi-charity pre-loved fashion retailer Charity Super.Mkt brought its 'second-hand department store' pop-up concept to Gloucester Quays outlet shopping centre for six weeks from 14 March 2024.

Partnerships

Gap and Palace partnered up to deliver a hit of '90s nostalgia

Gap, the quintessential American fashion brand, and Palace, the London-based skate label, are bringing back the ‘90s with a collaborative collection of adult and kids’ apparel.

Arket to enter Irish market with flagship store in Dublin

Arket, the lifestyle brand launched by H&M Group in 2017, which opened its first UK shop-in-shop at Selfridges in London in November 2023, has announced it will be opening a flagship store in Dublin this year – its first destination in Ireland.

In Pictures: Get ready for Heron Preston x H&M

Heron Preston, the American designer who was recruited by H&M in September 2023, launched his first collaborative collection with the retailer on 14 March.

In Pictures: Antoine Griezmann returned to front the new Mango Man 2024 campaign

French footballer, World Cup winner and striker for La Liga club Atlético Madrid, Antoine Griezmann, once again took the front line for Mango Man in its latest campaign for SS24.

Barbour is bringing pre-loved rental scheme to fields of Glastonbury

Barbour is bringing its famous waxed jackets to Glastonbury this summer, in partnership with Oxfam. For the first time, Barbour Re-Loved jacket rentals will be available on-site at the festival.

North Sails launched collaboration outerwear with Slowear

Performance sailing brand North Sails launched two new outerwear pieces in collaboration with Italian multi-brand retail concept Slowear for the first time, under the title of ‘Urban Breeze’, which was initially teased in June 2023 at Milan Fashion Week.

Oliver Spencer got framed by Cubitts in a new collaboration

Contemporary British menswear brand Oliver Spencer teamed up with modern spectacle maker Cubitts on the first of a series of “stunning sunglasses frames”.

In Pictures: H&M's latest designer collaboration with Rokh

Next month, H&M is spotlighting an emerging artist as part of its high-anticipated designer collaboration series. This time, Rokh, Korean designer Rok Hwang’s label, will be bringing its experimental spins on wardrobe staples to H&M’s customers.

M&S rolled out Nobody's Child's floral-infused designs to 60 UK stores

Florals for spring? Groundbreaking - or so said Marks & Spencer with its rollout of Nobody's Child to an additional 48 stores across the UK.

Oliver Peoples and Roger Federer joined forces "to reinvent performance eyewear"

Eyewear brand Oliver Peoples and Wimbledon Legend Roger Federer unveiled the high-anticipated sunglasses collection, which was first announced in April 2023.

Adidas underwent a Brazilian makeover courtesy of Farm Rio

In celebration of ten years since the two brands first collaborated, Farm Rio and Adidas reunited to create a "groovy" collection that will launch in multiple drops throughout the year.

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Retail Recap: The important openings and partnerships of March 2024

Store Openings

Partnerships

Features