Zara opens one of its biggest UK stores yet at intu Lakeside

Zara has opened one of its biggest UK stores to date at intu Lakeside. At 35,000 sq ft the two-storey store features the Inditex-owned brand's full range of menswear, womenswear and childrenswear.

It is the latest brand to invest in the centre after its owner intu’s multi-million-pound investment to create a 175,000 sq ft leisure-led extension at the Essex destination and transform the rest of the centre with a full mall refurbishment programme.

River Island is about to open an extended 21,000 sq ft store and H&M and Next both opened bigger intu Lakeside stores in 2017, taking 36,000 sq ft and 70,000 sq ft respectively.

intu Lakeside will open its £72m retail and leisure development this year introducing new leisure brands and restaurants to the south east of the UK for the first time.

Rebecca Ryman, regional managing director for intu, said: “More and more global brands are selecting intu Lakeside as the right destination from which to flourish across the UK by opening a new store here or by expanding their current footprint. Zara is a great example of this. Its on-trend designs continue to strike a chord across the UK and globally and we’re really excited to see a larger store that offers customers its full clothing range.”

Across the rest of its portfolio, intu welcomed bigger Next and Primark stores last year, with Next increasing the size of its shops at intu Merry Hill and intu Metrocentre and Primark expanding by more than 70% at intu Merry Hill.