Uniqlo and Theory to take over vacated Superdry Regent Street flagship

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jul 14, 2021

It hasn’t taken long to hear who’s moving into the location that Superdry is vacating on Regent Street. Fast Retailing has just announced that it will be taking up residence with its Uniqlo and Theory brands.

The new store will open next spring and will cover around 1,900 sq m (20,500 sq ft). It will be the first time for the two apparel brands to occupy retail space in the same location in either the UK or Europe.

Fast Retailing Chairman, President and CEO Tadashi Yanai said: “Regent Street and the United Kingdom hold a special significance to [us]. Regent Street was one of the first Uniqlo stores we opened outside our home market Japan, back in 2001. During these past 20 years we have raised our profile as a global apparel retailer, and in the UK market alone, we now boast several stores.”

Uniqlo actually has a large store on the opposite side of the road at the moment and it’s assumed this will close, leaving another big space that’s likely to be taken on by a global brand.

The new store will be at 101-113 Regent Street and will be divided across three floors, with Uniqlo on the lower ground, ground and first floors and Theory on the ground floor only. Customers will be able to walk freely from one space to the other.

Importantly too, newly expanded head offices for the companies’ UK and European operations will be housed across three floors above the store. Again, this will be a first, with the firm not having had an in-house press showroom for Uniqlo in the region before. 

When it was learned recently that Superdry was exiting the store space, its landlord Great Portland Estates said a “global fashion brand” was lined up to take it on. It was always going to be a big name given that GPE said the annual rent for the space was £4.3 million. As Fast Retailing is also taking on office space, it will be interesting to know what it’s paying. Unfortunately, the company didn’t share that information.