Ranking: the 15 fastest-growing retail brands in the UK

If you needed proof of how powerful physical stores are in modern retail, this ranking does the job. Of the varied retailers that made the list, from sweets to athleisure, a huge number of the brands that have clocked up the most impressive growth have invested heavily in either beginning or growing their store estate. 

Top of the list is local convenience chain Morrisons Daily, which saw its transaction growth catapult when it completed its takeover of McColls and converted 1,000 stores to its fascia. The grocer now has around 1,600 Morrisons Daily stores, with convenience a key part of Morrisons chief executive Rami Batieh’s strategy. Of the total store estate, two-thirds are company-owned and Morrisons has targeted 2,000 stores this year. 

Second is Alo Yoga, the high-end yoga brand that has swept the US and started targeting the UK and Ireland. 

The retailer has a huge social media following, particularly Instagram, where it showcases its range via influencer partnerships and lifestyle photography. The brand has cultivated a community around wellness, mindfulness, and the aspirational LA yoga lifestyle, featuring instructors and picture-perfect fitness influencers. 

“The athleisure market is showing no signs of slowing down.” says CACI senior location analytics consultant Harriet Jack. 

“New entrants Alo Yoga and Adanola particular success stories over that 12 month period, 704% and 100% being really standout numbers. The rise in athleisure spending, matched with an uplift in sales for gyms, illustrates that consumers are continuing to prioritise wellness and fitness.”

Alo has also been investing heavily in a physical store presence in the UK, it opened several London stores including King’s Road and Regent Street last year, and has started moving outside the capital with the latest lease secured at a 7,000sq ft unit on Manchester’s Cathedral Street just last week. 

The retailer said in a statement: “Building on the success of its expansion in the UK market, Alo is thrilled to continue its mission of bringing mindful movement, cutting-edge wellness, and elevated activewear to new communities across Europe.

“The brand has cultivated a dedicated community of celebrities and influential figures worldwide, including Kendall and Kylie Jenner, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Hailey Bieber, and Kaia Gerber. Since its inception, Alo has experienced increasing international demand for its products and anticipates continued growth as it expands into more physical locations in the global market.”

Treats and sweets

Another new entrant that’s beefing up its store presence in the UK is PureSeoul, a beauty retailer which specialises in Asian brands and specifically Korean skincare—also known as K-beauty. 

“Demand for niche, specialist beauty products driven by social media is another key theme that has come out of this data set.” says Jack.

“Relatively new entrant and K-beauty brand, PureSeoul, has experienced a 143% uplift in sales, with iconic global brand Sephora at 62%. We predict beauty investment will stay high, sustaining its growth into 2025 with the continued success of small-format beauty department stores selling a range of brands, such as Space NK, Sephora, and PureSeoul.”

It seems the lipstick-effect combined with more immersive physical stores became a winning combination for more than just the beauty brands. Confectionery brand Haribo has recorded some stellar growth in the UK, up more than 56%, as has toy and merchandise retailer Miniso with a 119% uplift. 

Haribo head of retail Rebecca Fox told Retail Week: “We’ve been delighted with Haribo UK’s continued success over the last year.” 

“We’ve recently celebrated some fantastic achievements with our retail stores, which have gone from strength to strength since our first store in 2018, and we are now boasting 11 locations around the country. 

“In February, we opened the doors of our newest store at Kent’s Bluewater Shopping Centre to a queue of hundreds of fans. They were greeted by the iconic Goldbear and a “Pick Your Mix” station featuring no less than 60 different sweets. We’ve recently announced our next store, coming soon to Glasgow’s Silverburn Shopping Centre. It will be our first store in Scotland, something we’ve wanted to do for a while, and we can’t wait to welcome Scottish Haribo lovers to the store later this year.”

Online winners

Of course, there are some online only-winners too. 

Last year, the ranking cited Vinted and Shein in the top 10 fastest-growing brands, with an increase of 171% and 84% respectively. One year on, both still have a place on the ranking and are still raking in sales, 40% and 62% respectively, comparing 2024 as a whole with 2023. 

Adanola doesn’t have any stores in the UK yet, although chief executive Hyram Cook told Retail Week it’s definitely on his radar, and it’s still benefitting from the athleisure boom as Alo Yoga—with its lower price point perhaps resonating with a wider range of shoppers than its competitor. 

The theme that links the online pure-play retailers in this list is, of course, price.

This is illustrated best by Temu which climbed to third place in the ranking with an impressive 151% growth, as shoppers looked to update their homes while keeping an eye on their bank balance. But, as the discounter faces stiff competition from new entry Amazon Haul and rapidly growing TikTok Shop, as well as navigating changes to tariffs, the industry will be keeping a close eye on this competitor to see if it will be able to maintain the growth through 2025.