The best new stores of 2023

Boots’ new concept store at Battersea Power Station in London is one of a kind as it puts beauty front and centre as the high street giant looks to “solidify its position as the UK’s number one beauty destination”.

The 11,200 sq ft space features more than 250 curated beauty brands and “new industry-leading skincare services” that provide customers with a dermatology-led approach to skincare and beauty on the high street. 

It builds on Boots’ healthcare expertise to provide a “unique beauty offering” and help customers to better understand and enhance their skin through expert advice and technology. The space offers customers personalised skincare solutions by in-store dermatology-trained pharmacists. 

DIY specialist B&Q opened doors to its first two smaller-format local convenience stores as it looked to sharpen its focus on the high street after cutting its concession tie-up with supermarket chain Asda. 

The new stores in Camden and Palmers Green opened at the end of January, offering services such as paint mixing, kitchen and bathroom design, click and collect, in-store ordering, key cutting and waste electrical and electronic equipment recycling. 

Second-hand superstore Charity Super.Mkt’s first pop-up at the former Topshop premises in London’s Brent Cross in January was a “phenomenal success”. 

Calling the concept “a new way of doing retail”, the retailer said it aims to bring “the best of charity retail all in one place”.

The store sold 40,000 items in six weeks and raised £374,454 for 10 participating charities. There was a 7% increase in footfall at Brent Cross following the opening. 

Following the success of the store in London, the retailer went on to trial the format in other parts of the country including Manchester and the Oracle shopping centre in Reading. 

Mobile phone provider EE called its flagship store at Westfield London, White City the “future face of retail”. 

The new Studio store format designed to enhance consumer experience features a host of “experience zones” – such as a dedicated gaming area, “taste of the future” smart home zone and a “digital spa” where customers can use technology to detox from their screens. 

EE’s most advanced store yet comes with a “multi-functional, flexible and ever-evolving” events hub space – where customers can try out tech before they buy it – as well as a shared working space where customers are offered complimentary tea and coffee. 

Footasylum’s flagship store at 73-89 Oxford Street in London is designed to create a mobile-first customer journey that seamlessly connects the brand’s online and in-store offerings. 

Previously occupied by New Look, the 20,000 sq ft store is spread across two floors and features 100 motion screens displaying digital signage to provide an immersive in-store experience.  

Frasers’ new concept store in Norwich redefines the department store format. Located at Chantry Place shopping centre, the store spreads across 100,000 sq ft and brings everything that the retail giant has to offer under one roof. 

The store is divided into a premium beauty hall and a Frasers home section on the ground floor housing third-party brands including Chanel, Dior, Rituals and Sofa.com. 

The first floor is a dedicated premium section housing brands such as USC, Boss, Barbour, Ralph Lauren and Coach. Sports Direct, Game, Evans Cycles and Belong take up the third floor. 

Holland & Barrett’s store in Kent’s Bluewater shopping centre underwent a major revamp to strengthen its position as the go-to health and wellness retailer on the high street.  

The 2,691 sq ft is fitted using 100% recyclable materials and the lighting is designed to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. 

The space offers customers personalised healthcare advice and houses a consultation room with a biometric machine for various health readings as the retailer doubles down on its health and wellness offering. 

Following a four-year absence, HMV returned to its former home of 363 Oxford Street in a sign of a “dramatic turnaround” of the business under owner Doug Putman who took over in 2019.  

The 10,500 sq ft space showcases a range of vinyl, pop culture merchandise, DVDs, CDs and a purpose-built floor for live performances.  

Customers can browse from a collection of 35,000 products including 8,000 different vinyl, 12,000 different CDs and music technology items at the store spanning three floors. 

Designed to become a “community hub for fans” the store houses more than 4,000 products across franchises such as Pokémon, Star Wars, Marvel and DC along with more than 750 different t-shirt designs. 

Bringing the playground element back to its stores, Lush’s largest store yet in Glasgow features soaps on sushi belts, giant floating bath bombs, a shampoo bar and a space which can be hired to host parties. 

Located on Glasgow’s Buchanan Street, one of the city’s busiest retail thoroughfares, the store extends over the building’s basement, ground and three upper floors, totalling 20,000 sq ft. 

The space also houses an independent vegan coffee shop and new products including Lush lifestyle items such as clothing, cosmetic bags, pins and soap dishes. 

Customers can also enjoy beauty services such as skin and haircare consultations at the store with an additional floor to follow in February 2024 to include Lush’s new Scottish Highlands-themed spa. 

Pets at Home store in Bristall, Leeds, underwent a significant investment to refurbish the entire store with a new Pet Grooming centre and a 1,800 sq ft extension of the animal hospital Vets for Pets. 

The store, which reopened in June, has been a part of the local community for almost 10 years serving customers 24 hours a day. 

Rituals flagship located at Battersea Power Station is the brand’s first premium store and flagship wellness hub in the country. 

As the brand redefines itself to help customers relax and unwind, the store’s ‘World of Sleep’ zone is designed to offer sophisticated luxury with new premium home and lifestyle collections.

The return of Sephora to the UK after 17 years away sent shockwaves through the British beauty market.  

Its highly anticipated flagship store at London’s Westfield White City spreads across 6,000 sq ft and offers products from over 135 brands across categories such as skincare, makeup, haircare, fragrances, body and personalised gifting. 

As more than 5,000 customers queued up for hours on opening day the store surpassed all expectations, performing more than 300% better than predicted. 

The beauty retailer has carried on this momentum with a second store that opened at Westfield Stratford in November and announced plans to expand to other parts of the country with a third store in Manchester’s Trafford Centre opening in summer 2024. 

As Frasers Group doubled down on chief executive Michael Murray’s elevation strategy, it opened doors to Sports Direct’s third and most advanced flagship store yet in Manchester’s Arndale Centre in March. 

Spread across five storeys and 50,000 sq ft the new store is designed to “bring a modern and engaging sports retail experience to the city” and received a “multimillion-pound investment” from the retailer. 

The space builds on Sports Direct’s flagships in London and Birmingham and features curated activation spaces and interactive experiences for consumers to explore. These include a putting green, running gait analysis, dedicated areas for football and specialist sports, a bra studio and a newly launched running concept, alongside menswear, womenswear and kidswear. 

Uniqlo’s store at Covent Garden is in a Grade II-listed building that was formerly a Victorian carriage hall. The space spans three floors and features a courtyard and vaulted glass atrium “focused on experience-led features” for customers. 

Designed to “dial up the experience” Uniqlo also partnered with London-based Japanese tearoom Katsute 100 to house its first in-store tearoom and with JamJar Flowers to transform its courtyard section into an in-store pop-up for customers. 

The store also features a Re.Uniqlo repair studio where customers can “recycle, repair or remake their favourite Uniqlo items” and houses Transport for London-branded products and Uniqlo’s bespoke T-shirt service UTme!, which are tailored to the London market