Opening Doors: 2024 UK Retail Developments
30th January 2024
Everchanging World of UK Retail
As 2023 drew to a close we began to see both the aftermath and the recovery from COVID-19 in the retail location planning world. With 2024 comes the opening of many new stores in the UK, from new and pre-existing brands. At GMAP we often work with retail brands who are looking at entering new markets, as well as providing our
RetailVision data to provide a detailed overview of the retail landscape. In 2023 and now entering 2024 there appears to be a slight surge of retailers freshly entering the UK market, a resurgence of retailers that were struck by COVID-19, and a few retail takeovers of fallen retailers such as Wilkos.
From Pop-Ups to Powerhouses: Navigating the World of Temporary Retail
Some retailers are opening their first store and others are using pop-up shops and collaborations to test the UK retail market and create awareness of their brand, products and services. A pop-up shop is a temporary retail space that is typically used to introduce a new product line, test a new market or generate awareness for a product or cause. Pop-up stores are normally located in areas with high foot traffic such as busy streets, malls, and city centres.
ASOS have just finished hosting their first ever pop-up store in London. This is their first dive into physical retailing after being solely online from 1999. This is an interesting strategical move especially after the common clickbait articles regarding the ‘death of the high street’ and the rise of online retailing . They are one of many fashion retailers investing in opening stores in the UK, with Primark, one of ASOS’s competitors, recently promising a £140 million investment in new and existing stores in the UK in the next two years. The pop-up store boasted a collaboration with Snapchat, showing yet again the ongoing retail trend of brand collaborations, which we talked about in our Barbenheimer blog in August. ASOS plan to invest £30 million in brand building as they move away from performance marketing. Perhaps this pop-up is the start of a new physical network for ASOS in the UK?
Similarly, Shein, a competitor to ASOS in their low prices and fashionable clothing, hosted a three day pop up in London in September, showcasing their fashion and homeware. They hosted multiple pop-ups throughout 2023, in the largest UK cities, such as Birmingham, Cardiff and Bristol. Will Shein open a physical store in 2024 and does their branding and pricing allow for this?
Also in London, the Barcelonian travel brand, Tropicfeel opened a two-day pop-up store at the end of September in 2023 to test the UK retail scene and market their brand. Lounge, a clothing company opened their first ever permanent location in London in October in London's Westfield White City, and so have Paul&Shark.
Contrasting to the London retail openings, AVON are opening their first UK stores in "neighbourhood communities" rather than on traditional High Streets, Ms Cretu said, and would be "mini beauty boutiques" showcasing a selection from Avon's range. This change in strategy reflects the impacts of COVID-19 and the rise of e-commerce. Traditionally, AVON is known for its house-to-house representative sales, but COVID-19 halted this strategy. These new openings and AVON’s partnership with Superdrug show the evolving retail planning strategy of AVON.
The Evolution of Retail: Adapting to Changing Consumer Habits
In 2024 the Wilko saga continues! Wilko will open stores in Northern Ireland for the first time this year, and new stores are opening throughout 2024, some owned by B&M, and some by The Range. Will these stores follow the same path as before or will the acquisitions be profitable?
After falling into administration over COVID-19 and losing over 200 stores, Peacocks are due to open 6 new locations this year. Similarly, M&Co have announced they are planning to open 50 new stores over the next two years after falling into administration twice in two years over COVID-19, and being sold to Yours Clothing.
Mountain Warehouse are targeting 50 new store openings in 2024 as it reached record sales in 2023. The founder of Mountain Warehouse, Mark Neale, explained that while their sales online had a large boost over COVID, the growth in in-store sales afterwards show consumers want for both methods of shopping.
This online and physical store approach is being followed similarly by Weird Fish, who are set to open 10 new stores in 2024. They will target market towns, high streets and holiday centres rather than cities like the pop-up stores mentioned above. Weird Fish are a fashion chain sold by Next and Zalando. It will be interesting to see the potential switch from collaborator to competitor, as these brands share the high street.
2024 sees brands expanding their networks to new areas, such as Sephora opening their third UK store in Manchester this summer. This store will be a megastore and their first store in the North, a bold move.
Within the grocery retail market there are similar moves to open new stores, however at a slower and less publicised pace than in previous years. ALDI are investing £56 million into new openings and existing stores in Scotland, after becoming Scotland’s third largest grocer in 2023, stepping ahead of Sainsburys and Morrisons for the first time. ASDA have opened lots of Express shops in 2023, and have recently announced they are on track to open 1,000 more sites throughout the UK and Northern Ireland by March 2024. This is partially due to their acquisition of 132 sites from their competitor Co-op in 2023, 116 of which they’ve said will be converted to ASDA Express Stores.
