The UK boss of Tiger has said he sees scope to have stores in 10% of London Underground stations as it prepares to make its debut in the network.
The Danish value retailer, which was last month named one of the UK’s fastest-growing retailers, will open a smaller format store – 700 sq ft – at St James Park Underground station next week.
Speaking exclusively to Retail Week, Tiger’s UK managing director Philip Bier said the move “opens up a whole new scope” for the business.
“There are 270 Underground stations. I’m not proposing 270 Tiger stores, but 10% of stations could take a Tiger shop,” he said.
Bier, who set up the Tiger chain in the UK ten years ago, was speaking to Retail Week at Tiger’s new store in Leadenhall Market, a former Jaeger. The shop is Tiger’s 38th in London and the south-east.
Bier, a former photographer, said Tiger – once dubbed a “posh pound shop” – has benefited from opening in more affluent areas, such as Brighton and Kingston-upon-Thames, as shoppers are attracted by its assortment of affordable homewares.
Tiger, which has 74 UK stores and around 900 UK employees, has expanded steadily in the past four years, opening around six to eight stores a year.
Bier said he expected this growth to continue, but there are plenty of London locations where he would still like to have stores. These include another Oxford Street store, Covent Garden, Leicester Square, The Strand, Hackney, Balham and Brixton.
“We still have loads to do in Central London and we could have the shops very close to each other,” he said.
In its last full year, Tiger’s parent company Zebra reported a 68% jump in profits to 196m krone (£18.6m), as sales jumped 44%. The group operates 605 stores across 28 countries.
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