Hobbs has unveiled a revamped Covent Garden flagship that it will use to woo international franchise partners.

The store is designed to showcase the Hobbs brand to international retail players, particularly from China.

Hobbs launched its first overseas website in Germany in the last fortnight and plans to launch Australian and US sites before the end of the month. The retailer is planning a maximum of four international websites, while its global site will cater for the rest of the world.

The overhauled Covent Garden store features Hobbs’ new branding, which it unveiled earlier this year, and a ‘shoe pavilion’.

The retailer is keen to trade on its heritage and the store uses “quintessentially British” fabrics and furniture from homegrown talent.

Hobbs plans to refit 30% of its stores in the next year using elements from the flagship. It has already refitted its Bluewater and Guildford shops, where like-for-likes have increased double digits since the revamps, according to chief executive Nicky Dulieu.