Holland & Barrett to launch its first experience store as it continues store investment strategies

The new store will open on Cardiff’s Queen Street, spanning 3710 sq ft to make it the largest Holland & Barrett store to date. 

Cardiff will play host to the health and wellbeing retailer’s first wellbeing studio, offering customers experiences such as yoga and pilates. This comes after customer insights showed a demand for more immersive experiences.

The store will also offer health checks and blood testing through its partnership with Randox to identify health concerns, with an in-store “H&B&me” pod will help customers learn their biological age and support health habits.

The Cardiff team are made up of colleagues qualified to advise customers to offer personalised support including a women’s health coach for an enhanced level of expertise and support on hormone health.

A new wellness hub will be in the centre of the store as a space for advice and additional consultation rooms for privacy.

The new store forms part of Holland & Barrett’s £70m investment into transforming stores, technology and new product development. 

The Cardiff site is integrating self-checkout and in-aisle payment for quick, grab-and-go purchases, along with LED powered lighting and recycled materials being used to ensure a more sustainable store.

Throughout the financial year, it will invest in at least one store a day to refresh and refurbish. Insights from the new experience store will also inform future store concepts.

Holland & Barrett property and format director Nick Gerrard said: “The Holland & Barrett experience store is another step in our transformation of the store estate across UK and Ireland. 

“We look forward to trialling new concepts and immersive experiences alongside an even wider range of wellness solutions with our largest store to date. The insights we will gain from our experience store will inform future store concepts and continue connecting communities with our fantastic customer experience in stores.”