Iittala will open at 126 Regent Street on December 20, opposite homewares retailers Habitat and Zara Home.
The store will sell a wide range of homewares and will feature collections such as Neo – a cookware range designed in conjunction with Scandinavia’s leading architectural practice Claesson Koivisto Rune – and Ote, stacking glasses designed by Aleksi Perälä. The retailer is most famed for its classic Aalto vase, designed by Alvar Aalto in 1936.
“We see London as the most sexy retail hub in the world,” said Iittala managing director of central Europe Jean Jongejan.
“We are very well known in the Scandinavian markets, but are now ready to launch the next stage of our expansion.
“We opened our first store in Germany in Hamburg last week, so are concentrating on that market and the UK,” he said.
Jongejan said that Regent Street is an ideal location for Iittala because it is home to luxury and upmarket brands, as well as homewares retailers. He said: “We have created a destination for homewares.”
Iittala has UK concessions through partner Skandium, which operates standalones on Marylebone High Street and Brompton Road. It also supplies department stores such as Selfridges.
Jongejan said that once the Regent Street store is up and running, Iittala will look for further UK sites. “If we want to make an impact in the UK, we can’t just have one store,” he said.
Iittala has 28 standalone stores in Europe and more than 50 concessions in department stores.
The retailer started out in 1881 as a glassworks, founded in the village of Iittala in southern Finland. Its offer is based on combinable and multi-purpose products whereby everything can be mixed and matched.
CWM is acting for Iittala.
No comments yet