Flagships Show the Way

Currently, it seems hardly a day passes without more grim news about a major retailer laying off its staff or heading for the bankruptcy courts. Yet there are bright spots amid all the gloom. Regent Street in central London has been a major landing point, particularly for U.S. brands and retailers, for some years.

That trend appears to have slowed somewhat for the U.S. arrivistes, enough to contend with back home, perhaps, but in their place, others are now arriving with what a cynic might view as a blatant disregard of the economic backdrop. Indeed, some are using this grand thoroughfare as a springboard for major expansion.

Japanese sports shoe brand Asics (Kobe, Japan) is a case in point. A couple of weeks ago, it opened a “global flagship” on Regent Street which comes complete with robot arms in the windows, robots to select appropriate shoe sizes from the back of house and an eye-catching lighting scheme, among other things. This is impressive and multimillions have been spent on creating the interior, according to the brand.

And just last week, H&M made the U.K. debut of its successful Weekday fascia on Regent Street, and it unveils “Arket,” another format and a world first, on Friday.

All of which perhaps indicates that when it comes to novelty, hope springs eternal, and even if money is tight, there will always be those who are willing to “give it a go.” It is also worth commenting that, at a time when many are shedding stores, and some are saying that flagships are pretty difficult to make a return on investment with, big, impressive shops, still have the capacity to draw the crowds.

There is of course a caveat in all of this. There are not that many locations like Regent Street around the world, and there are plenty of places that big retail and brands wouldn’t touch with a barge pole. Flagships look set to continue, but more than ever, it will be a matter of destination editing.  

John Ryan is a journalist covering the retail sector, a role he has fulfilled for more than a decade. As well as being the European Editor of VMSD magazine, he writes for a broad range of publications in the U.K., the U.S. and Germany with a focus on in-store marketing, display and layout, as well as the business of store architecture and design. In a previous life, he was a buyer for C&A, based in London and then Düsseldorf, Germany. He lives and works in London.