Polish fashion brand Reserved, the flagship of LPP Group, is looking to expand its retail presence in the UK and has instructed Harper Dennis Hobbs to advise on its expansion plans.
Reserved opened a 32,000 sq ft flagship store at 252-258 Oxford Street, W1, in a former BHS unit, and is looking to build the brand presence considerably outside Eastern Europe.
Reserved, fronted by Kate Moss, is on the lookout for other large format stores in key UK retail locations.
Dan Hildyard, head of UK agency at HDH, said: “Early indications show the launch of the new store was a huge success; from a real estate point of view it is refreshing to see an established fast fashion brand with substantial backing entering the UK in such a high-profile spot. Equally, from a consumer point of view, I think the coverage they have had has exceeded that of recent entrants – with the autumn campaign featuring Kate Moss bringing Reserved’s identity to life in a way that has appealed to British consumers.”
Reserved has 450 stores across 18 countries and is popular due to its trend-conscious, affordable collections, which are refreshed every two weeks. It is also launching in Serbia, Belarus and Kazakhstan this year, and has plans to accelerate its development in Russia and the Ukraine. The brand has 16 stores in Germany.
UK retail operations manager Corinne Facey said Reserved is using the Oxford Street store to better understand the UK market before expanding further: “We really want to dive into the London customer and tackle the British market from there.”
Krzysztof Bocianowski, head of real estate for all the LPP brands, said: “This will be a carefully considered expansion plan throughout 2018 and beyond with focus on key large cities and regional shopping centres. Reserved is adopting a cautious approach and will only select the super prime locations on the best possible terms. We have the ability to move quickly but are under no pressure from the board. The deal has to be right.”
The expansion plans will be led by the success of the bricks and mortar in conjunction with the brand’s UK e-tail site which went live the same time as the store launch. Reserved is LPP’s most mainstream brand bringing in around half of its annual sales, making it the ideal test brand for the company.
Other LPP brands Mohito, Sinsay, Cropp and House are likely to follow the expansion of Reserved.
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