Children’s clothing retailer Little Miss Matched intends to open up to 50 shops in the UK in the next three to five years, after opening its first store in the UK at Bluewater shopping centre in Kent this summer.

The US retailer, famous for its colourful mismatched socks, is searching for sites in major regional shopping centres across the UK. It also wants to open concessions in leading department stores, targeting retailers such as John Lewis and Debenhams.

“The Bluewater store has more than exceeded our expectations and we are ready to take the next step,” said UK managing director Graham Heeley. “We’re looking for high-profile shopping centres with units of about 500 sq ft.”

Little Miss Matched is also expanding across other countries. In the US, it has about 2,500 concessions for its clothing and accessories. These include Macy’s, JC Penney and Barnes & Noble. It will open standalone stores in the US from next year and is eyeing Japan, Denmark and Canada for standalone stores and concessions as well.

“Since we launched about three and a half years ago, our sales have been up 300 per cent year on year,” said founder Jonah Staw. “Customers have a smile on their faces when they come into our stores and it is this fun aspect that is driving our growth.”

Little Miss Matched was launched by three US entrepreneurs to solve the problem of the lost sock. Its product range now spans socks, clothing, accessories, stationery, furniture and books.

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