Spanish beauty brand Freshly Cosmetics has closed its store on Carnaby Street, London, after just six months of trading.
Retail Week can confirm the retailer has closed the store it opened in November to some fanfare due to it being Freshly Cosmetics’ first store outside of Spain.
However, the store has been affected by the collapse in retail footfall in the West End, driven by a mixture of the cost-of-living crisis and the impact of the growth in hybrid working driven by the pandemic.
Freshly Cosmetics corporate and communications manager, Salva Marsal said: “I can confirm that we have indeed closed our Freshly Store at Carnaby Street. Although it was a very difficult decision that we hoped we could avoid, we are now certain that it was the correct one for us. We had taken this new adventure in the UK with great excitement, even though we were fully aware that there were some risks involved, but after much consideration, we sadly realised that it was time to take a step back.
“We are not planning on opening any other store in the UK at the moment. The reason why is that we are now focusing on expanding our retail presence in Spain, our home country, where we are already well known and established as a brand. We are in fact in the process of opening our fourth and fifth store in the upcoming weeks, and looking into opening a few more by the end of the year.”
A spokeswoman for Shaftesbury, the store’s landlord, confirmed Freshly Cosmetics had exited its lease and this would give it a chance to find another brand to occupy prime space on Carnaby Street.
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