iSmash, which specialises in the personalisation and repair of smart phones, tablets and computers, is looking to open 50 more shops in the UK over the next year.
The retailer, which opened its first UK store in August 2013, has appointed Farebrother and Colliers International to identify 20 sites in London and a further 30 across the UK by 2017.
It currently has 11 shops in London and is looking for stores of between 150 and 500 sq ft in shopping centres, high streets and commercial districts.
The expansion drive has been prompted by an increase in smashed phone screens across the UK, the retailer said.
According to a Motorola-commissioned survey of 6,000 adults, 38% of smartphone owners in the UK have suffered a damaged screen in the past.
iSmash opened its first UK shop in London on the King’s Road, SW7, in 2013. It now has shops in High Street Kensington, W8; Fleet Street, EC4, Victoria Station, SW1, and Canary Wharf, E14.
It secured private equity investment in the second quarter of 2015 to fund its expansion plans. Some sites have already been identified, and discussions with landlords have begun. In London it is targeting sites in Camden, NW1; Battersea, SW11; Brixton, SW2; Islington, N5; and Knightsbridge, SW3, as well as in the City.
Outside of central London, iSmash has acquired sites in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey; and Thurrock, Essex, and is targeting cities including Bristol, Brighton, Cardiff, Oxford, Cheltenham and Reading.
Neil Davies, head of retail at Farebrother, said: “The first tranche of stores are trading well, and we already have firm expressions of interest from a number of landlords with units in high footfall areas in central London.”
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