H&M adds Belfast to its list of key UK flagship relocation/upsizes

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
May 17, 2024

H&M is relocating its Belfast flagship store, with the global fashion giant set to open an “enhanced” 20,000 sq ft flagship store in Northern Ireland’s capital city. 

Set to move into a new premium location on Castle Street in July, it promises “a new, fresh interior look and feel for the brand".

Over two floors, the store will offer womenswear, menswear, kidswear and accessories, the customer experience “will be driven by fashion demand, with elevated trend-driven products and styles”.

Klas Degeryd, Head of Expansion, H&M UK & Ireland, said: “New omnichannel services will offer customers more convenience, while an elevated interior design will enable them to shop our latest fashion collections and styles in a more curated and inspirational way.” An addition will be self-service checkouts.

Sustainability will also be a key focus and the company said the store will include plenty of eco-conscious features.

The latest upgrade/enlarged flagship store follows a pattern for the Swedish brand in recent months. But it also follows a pattern we’re seeing across the sector as retailers revisit their current store portfolios.

They may be happy with their location but they’re focusing on bigger spaces (sometimes much bigger) and many of the press releases about openings that we’re getting at the moment aren’t so much about ‘new’ stores but about upsized ones.

Only this week Superdrug announced a major upsizing investment and in recent months we’ve had upsizing news from Lululemon, Zara, Footasylum, Goldsmith, Hobbs and Phase Eight too.

Property giant Landsec, in its year-end results today, emphasised the move for major brands to "fewer, bigger, better stores" helping it improve its retail performance and footfall.