The retailer aims to open between five and 10 stores a year for the next five years. It has instructed property agency Harper Dennis Hobbs to search for stores of varying sizes, from 2,150 to 10,765 sq ft (200 to 1,000 sq m).
Gerry Weber area manager for UK and Ireland David Fenton said: “Sales in our Regent Street store are up year on year and the company now sees the UK and Ireland as a huge growth target.
“Our format is flexible too, so we can go for larger flagship stores or smaller stores in cathedral towns, which will house a couple of the collections.”
Gerry Weber, which operates three main fashion labels – upper-middle womenswear collection Gerry Weber, younger fashion brand Taifun and plus-size label Samoon – will open in Westfield London this year.
It is also under offer for stores at Victoria Square in Belfast, The Glades Shopping Centre in Bromley, Kent, as well as Dundrum shopping centre in Dublin. The retailer is also understood to be in negotiations for deals in Cardiff and Bristol.
Gerry Weber has about 150 stores worldwide and a turnover of 442.8 million (£349.3 million), and is considering opening standalone stores for its Taifun brand in the UK.
“We are concentrating on Gerry Weber for the time being, but we have standalone Taifun stores in Germany and the brand is growing strongly, so we could look at opening them in the UK within the next two years,” said Fenton.
Gerry Weber tested the UK market via its wholesale partnerships in stores such as John Lewis and Fenwicks before opening its first standalone on London’s Regent Street in 2006. In March, it opened its second UK store at Grand Arcade in Cambridge.
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