The North Face parent company, VF Corp, has signed a 10-year lease at its global flagship store in London to increase its footprint by 33%.
The store situated at Walmar House, 288-300 Regent Street, will now consist of 10,000 sq ft across the ground and basement floors.
The North Face has traded successfully at GPE’s Walmar House site since 2015 and the expansion follows a strong trading period at the current flagship store.
Subscribe to Internet Retailing for free:
Click here to sign up for our daily newsletter
According to the RetailX 2023 Global Sports Sector report, the sector grew by almost a third in 2020, powered by lockdown, but has since dropped back to a more modest 4% growth rate in 2022.
This resulted in apparel becoming the biggest segment of the sports goods sector by sales and, as a result, has borne the brunt of the market contraction in 2022, slumping from 17% growth in 2021 to just 2.2% in 2022.
“We’re excited to confirm that we will be expanding our presence at our flagship Regent Street store, owing to the increased trading we’ve witnessed here for some time,” The North Face / VF Group EMEA real estate manager Ignacio Abadias said.
“It’s a testament to the enduring success story of London’s Regent’s Street, as it will become our biggest store in EMEA and second globally. It’s been a great partnership working with GPE to establish The North Face prime retail position on the high street.”
The move comes as rival Under Armour unveiled its latest Brand House on London’s Oxford Street, marking a milestone in its European growth plan.
The new store, which opened last week, is the latest in a series of Brand House openings following the success of its Westfield Stratford, Battersea Power Station, and Liverpool ONE stores.
The North Face also features as a Company Profile in the RetailX 2023 Global Sports Sector report, click here to view:
