Vanilla to open its debut standalone store in Bluewater

New accessible fashion concept brand Vanilla has chosen Bluewater in Kent for its debut standalone store, following the success of its established online and concession presence.

Located adjacent to H&M on Upper Thames Walk, the 3,616 sq ft Vanilla flagship store represents the first time trend-led, well priced fashion labels Blue Vanilla and Pink Vanilla will have a bricks and mortar home to showcase its collections in full. Vanilla Bluewater will also exclusively stock a new shoe and accessory collection, not available anywhere else.

Vanilla comprises two brands, Blue Vanilla and Pink Vanilla. Fashion-forward, on-trend Blue Vanilla aims to deliver stylish fashion. The London-based brand operates on a global scale, with its e-commerce site shipping to 150 countries globally, while the brand is also available in stores nationwide, such as New Look and House of Fraser, and on e-commerce platforms such as Next, Debenhams and Silk Fred. Pink Vanilla is a young fashion brand targeting the ages 14-24 offering outfits for all occasions.

Michelle Burns, Head of Retail Stores at Vanilla, said of the move: “We were very selective when searching for the ideal location at which to launch our encompassed Vanilla flagship store, and Bluewater, with its impressive array of retail names and strong experiential offering, is the perfect destination for us to launch at.

"We have built up a strong reputation with our Blue Vanilla and Pink Vanilla brands through e-commerce and strong sales through concessions, including Bluewater. We wanted to continue to deliver trend-led, yet affordable options for females of all ages, and we are very excited to be taking the next step into physical retail with our first Bluewater flagship.”

The announcement of the arrival of Vanilla at Bluewater of two further specialist brands, technology-led sleep brand Sleep.8 and cookware company ProCook. The retail and leisure  destination has also opened England’s longest and fastest zipwire, Skywire.

Rob Hardie, Portfolio Director for co-owner and asset manager of Bluewater, Landsec, commented: “We are committed to constantly diversifying and building upon our already varied offer at Bluewater, to keep it relevant and appealing to all that visit. The addition of specialist and unique retail brands Vanilla, Sleep.8, and ProCook, is evidence of our efforts to consistently deliver trend-led retail options to our visitors. These brands and other recent openings, such as ZARA’s global concept store, only strengthens Bluewater position as the retail industry rebounds post-pandemic.”