First look: Sosandar has opened its first physical store in Essex

The new 1,750 sq ft store is located on Bond Street, Chelmsford’s “upmarket” shopping district, and marks one of two new openings for Sosandar.

Speaking to Retail Week last month, co-founder Ali Hall said it was important for the brand to take its online success and “bring that into a physical space”.

The store features and fittings have all been exclusively designed for Sosandar’s store fit and the fashion retailer said its interior has been designed to “mimic the brand’s chic and upmarket clothes”.

Dark wood and neutral colours have been used as a complementary backdrop to its range of “colourful clothing”.

Customers can expect to shop Sosandar’s full range of clothing, shoes and accessories as the brand hopes to bring its online experience into a physical environment.

Unusually, Sosandar said its stores will not feature any mannequins in an attempt to give it a more “modern look” and will house screens instead.

Ribbons will also be tied to hangers in stores to attach images of the piece of clothing being styled as a full outfit, allowing shoppers to visualise outfits in the same way you would be able to online.

Hall told Retail Week that the Chelmsford opening and the second store in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, are what the brand deems to be “tier-one locations” in “affluent, vibrant, lively places” where footfall is high and Sosandar is likely to resonate with shoppers.

Hall said: “One of the things that we really wanted to do was to look at how we can take the success that we’ve had online and bring that into a physical space.

“So one of the things that you’ll see in all of our stores is at the window there’ll be a large video screen and on that screen will play multiple videos that we have online.

“We aren’t having any mannequins whatsoever. We don’t use mannequins online, so why would we use them in store? We want something that’s much more modern. Something which brings to life the clothes, rather than a static mannequin with no head on. So, it’s bringing that thing that’s worked really well for us, which is our imagery.

“Also, when customers pick up an item of clothing on a hanger, around the top of that hanger will be a ribbon with a picture of the online imagery of that top in the full outfit on a model, so you’ll be able to visualise when you pick up a top what that outfit will look like.”