Latest news with #NigelTAYLOR
Fashion Network
22-05-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Sephora's Liverpool One store finally opens
By Nigel TAYLOR French beauty giant Sephora arrived at Liverpool One on Thursday (22 May), welcoming nearly 1,000 shoppers, many who had queued for the 09:00 opening. First announced last autumn and following a 'hugely successful' launch in the North East, Sephora's North West England debut takes up a 6,727 sq ft cornerstone unit at a key entrance to Liverpool One's South John Street. Sephora UK's MD Sarah Boyd said: 'We have had immense demand from our fans in Liverpool to open a store in their city. Liverpool has been a key location in our brand expansion plans, and we were prepared to wait for the right opportunity, which this prominent Liverpool One unit provides.' Rob Deacon, Asset Management director at Liverpool One, added: 'Sephora is a brand that represents exactly what [we look] for when adding to our line-up. It is globally celebrated, has a huge base of loyal fans, and delivers a bold, compelling concept. Consumer demand for Sephora is strong in Liverpool, and securing best-in-class retailers and experiences for the city is precisely what we aim to achieve at the destination, so the entrance of this beauty powerhouse is a natural partnership.' Liverpool will be the eighth store in Sephora UK's growing physical retail portfolio, which includes stores in Westfield London and Stratford City, Manchester's Trafford Centre, Newcastle's Eldon Square, Gateshead Metrocentre, Birmingham Bullring and Bluewater in Kent.
Fashion Network
08-05-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Sneaker label Autry picks London's Soho for UK debut
By Nigel TAYLOR Classic-contemporary unisex sneaker brand Autry has chosen London's Soho for its first UK store, with a 2,600 sq ft space on busy Beak Street. The property, operated by Shaftesbury Capital, reflects the brand'strademark '80s look but the vintage-style products come with a contemporary, sports-performance-oriented twist. The immersive boutique also mirrors Autry's 'celebration of American aesthetics, spirit, and sport heritage throughout its design with an Italian twist'. The latest opening for the brand comes after Italian private equity group Style Capital acquired a 50.2% stake in Autry International just over a year ago. It then announced a retail expansion plan that would see more than 20 Autry brand stores opening in luxury shopping destinations in Italy and abroad. Roberta Benaglia, founder and CEO of Style Capital, said: 'The opening of Autry's first flagship store in London marks a pivotal moment in the brand's journey. It's more than a retail milestone, it brings Autry's iconic values to life through a space that reflects our identity. London, with its cultural vibrancy and global spirit, was the natural first stage for this step. This boutique represents a new chapter in our strategy to build a strong international presence and connect with our global community, combining authenticity, quality, and a bold vision for the future.' Autry joins the high-in-demand retail neighbourhood that will see active brand TALA open on nearby Carnaby Street this month, plus Pangaia (also on Carnaby Street), and Salomon on Broadwick Street. Will Oliver, Retail director at Shaftesbury Capital, said: 'We've actively curated a leading collection of retailers in Soho, with Autry another high-quality addition to our community.'
Fashion Network
07-05-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Kidswear Collective unveils link-up with FARA Kids charity
By Nigel TAYLOR Fast-growing re-sale platform Kidswear Collective has partnered with FARA Kids, a Romania-focused charity. The past-season-designer specialist for babies and children will donate any items that cannot be sold to FARA Kids, to be distributed across its 14 stores throughout London. Kidswear Collective said it will provide regular shipments of stock throughout the year to ensure it's made available to FARA's customers 'to support the work they are doing to help transform the lives of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people living in Romania'. FARA Foundation CEO Libby Gordon said: 'Our stores are a much-loved part of our wider FARA Charity Shops network, and we're thrilled to have been asked to partner with Kidswear Collective. We both share a passion for circularity and extending the lifecycle of clothes and this collaboration will provide a wonderful addition of stock into our neighbourhood stores.' Kidswear Collective founder Shoshana Kazab added: 'Ever since we launched, charity and supporting communities is at the heart of what we do. We have worked with various charities throughout the years and are particularly excited about the partnership with FARA Kids as a London-based charity shop chain. 'We see great synergy between the two brands and are looking forward to collaborating with them on other projects and fundraising activities throughout our partnership.'
Fashion Network
28-04-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
UK footfall takes a break after busy Easter
By Nigel TAYLOR It was inevitable UK retail footfall took a week-on-week breather following the busy Easter break. Retail visits declined 9.8% in all UK retail destinations across the 20-26 April reporting period, led by a significant drop in shopping centre activity (-14.1%) followed by retail parks (-11.2%), reports MRI Software. On a week-on-week basis, high streets witnessed a lesser decline (-7%), however they were still down on the week before last when activity declined 2.8%. Year-on-year, retail footfall also declined by 2.6% in all UK retail destinations over the period with the most severe drop witnessed in shopping centres (-3.4%) followed by high streets (-2.5%) and a lesser decline in retail parks (-2.1%), highlighting the impact of the shift in Easter holiday timings, it said. Back to week-on-week, the dip was largely driven by a substantial drop on Easter Sunday (20 April) as the majority of retail stores and destinations remained closed. This trend continued into Easter Monday (21 April) with only retail parks witnessing an uplift on this day, but then they continued to fall away as the week progressed. High streets saw declines in footfall from Monday to Thursday averaging -12.1%. This improved on Friday and Saturday with activity rising by an average of 4.7%, likely to be in response to the drop on Good Friday and Saturday (18-19 April). Retail parks witnessed a strong start to the week with footfall rising on Monday by 5.6%, however this worsened from Wednesday onwards in response to the surge in activity witnessed in the week leading up to Easter. Shopping centres saw a similar trend to high streets with footfall falling by an average of 11.5% from Monday to Friday but rising on Saturday by an average of 2%. All town types experienced a sharp drop in footfall with historic (-8.4%), coastal (-9.4%) and market towns (-8.4%) seeing the largest declines. This suggested the Easter school holidays came to come to an end in many regions or people chose to take holidays outside the UK. This is further reinforced by a 7.8% week-on-week drop in footfall in office-dense locations within Central London.
