France's Ba&sh to open in Carnaby this month

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Apr 4, 2019

London landlord Shaftesbury has announced that premium Paris-based womenswear brand Ba&sh will open a store in the Carnaby area. The new location will be at 20 Beak Street, which is at the bottom end of Carnaby Street and not far from the upscale offer in Regent Street. The 1,250 square foot store will open this month.

The growing brand is 15 years old and has seen its profile rising fast in recent periods and its store footprint expanding equally fast. Last autumn it tested a new experiential concept when it opened its 200th location in New York's Nolita district.

That location includes a ‘dream closet’, from which customers can borrow clothes, and guest-brand pop-ups. The NYC store is also very digital but combines this with a more welcoming atmosphere designed to boost dwell time. There’a no word yet on whether the new Carnaby location will feature the same concept, although the company seems to have chosen a neighbourhood in which such advanced thinking would sit well. 

The Carnaby area used to be full of souvenir shops as well as low-price denim and sports outlets, but has been transformed in the past few years and its female focus is increasing. Brands close by include Our Legacy Womens, The Kooples and Sweaty Betty and the area is hosting more and more niche beauty brands these days too. 

That, along with labels such as Sandro, Maje, J Crew, Kate Spade, Michael Kors, Furla, Karen Millen and Coach (all on nearby Regent Street), makes Beak Street a good choice for a new premium store.