JD’s new menswear fascia Open has launched a store in Stevenage, the first in an opening spree for the value format ahead of Christmas.

The 2,000 sq ft store, which opened on Saturday, is the first of ten Open stores that will begin trading before the end of the year.

It has already signed for shops in Trinity Leeds, Manchester Arndale and Silverburn in Glasgow.

Open is targeted at the 20- to 30-year-old man and sells own-brand product. Price points are low at £5 for a basic T-shirt and £20 for jeans.

Stephen Galea, managing director of Open, said: “We’re sitting in a similar place to Topman, River Island, Next and at the lower [priced end] Blue Inc and New Look.”

Despite its sharp prices, Galea said it had “more of a premium feel” in terms of store design.

Galea said there was room for a new player in the menswear market which has seen retailers exit or downsize during the downturn.

He said: “There’ been a lot of consolidation in menswear brands. Independent stores have gone by the wayside, brands have gone into administration, there haven’t been many menswear-only concepts launching in the past five years.”

Open will capitalise on parent company JD’s infrastructure and its product will be available to click-and-collect in all the retail group’s stores, including Blacks, Millets, Bank and Scotts.