Trading under the dual fascias of Vero Moda and Jack & Jones, it plans to open between 10 and 12 UK outlets next year.
Bestseller Retail UK manager Andrew Farnham said that it plans to trade under a similar multibrand format to stores in its existing UK portfolio, which sell womens-, mens- and childrenswear brands. These include children’s label Name It, which it rolled out for the first time at its Liverpool store.
The retailer has opened six standalone stores in the UK since it arrived here 18 months ago. Its first was in Birmingham’s Bullring centre.
Bestseller has appointed London agency Harper Dennis Hobbs to find stores in the UK. It has identified between 75 and 100 towns and cities in the UK where the multibrand approach would succeed. It is seeking units of the same size as its present stores, between 4,000 and 13,000 sq ft (370 and 1,200 sq m).
Farnham said that the fact that retailers are cautious about adding to their property portfolio in the present climate is working to Bestseller’s advantage. “We’re in a position to do it and there’s never a better time than when landlords need you. The worldwide company is in a strong enough position to support expanding in the UK,” he said.
He added that Bestseller’s brands are better placed to ride out economic problems affecting the retail sector because its target market of younger shoppers are less affected by the downturn.
Farnham said it would consider opening standalone stores for individual brands. It already operates single brand stores in countries such as Belgium, Austria and Canada, but this is not part of its immediate plans. “In Europe, they tend to go with single [brand] sites, but in the UK we feel that the multibrand site is where we want to be,” he added.
Bestseller has more than 4,000 stores in 41 countries worldwide. It recorded turnover of more than 1 billion (£774.2 million) for its last financial year.
No comments yet