H&M wowed shoppers with its Regent Street store opening last week with a smattering of celebrities, including Sir Bob Geldof’s daughter Peaches.
Next door to H&M, Nokia opened its flagship and prior to that, American Apparel launched its flagship on nearby Oxford Street.
While for most retailers flagships are money-makers, for many they are used predominantly to drive brand awareness. H&M has several stores in the West End, yet none of them gave it that iconic flagship status. Now they can sit alongside the big boys with a store design and fit-out to be proud of.
These flagship stores must be coupled with other formats and retailers are more aware than ever that they need to adapt to bring in new shoppers. Retailers are seeking out different locations and different sizes of stores to widen their appeal.
Japanese retailer Uniqlo is one example. The young fashion retailer has had a troubled relationship with the UK market, having retreated two years after its debut in 2001. Yet late last year it showed that it would not be beaten and opened two flagships on Oxford Street on the same day.
As well as increasing its brand awareness, Uniqlo wanted to show landlords in the UK what it could do. Having retreated from the market once before, landlords understandably view it in a slightly different light to other new retailers. They don’t want a repeat performance, to leave them with empty stores.
Yet, Uniqlo has hammered out its strategy. The product has been widely celebrated, with its brightly coloured cashmere sweaters rivalling Marks & Spencer at Christmas, for example, and the store design is inviting.
Uniqlo has also tested a smaller format at La Défense’s shopping centre in Paris that it now wants to roll out here. This store – compact at 3,500 sq ft (325 sq m) – has been designed specifically for shopping centres and has an open frontage with a glass display box to show the best of what’s on offer.
This trial, plus the London flagships, has reassured landlords that Uniqlo means business. It has built up its brand and created a format that will work at shopping centres. While nothing is certain, Uniqlo has ticked many boxes. And, while all retailers are fighting for market share, it’s not a bad model to follow.
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