Fast Retailing Group’s global apparel brands UNIQLO and Theory will open the doors today (Thursday 27th April) from 10am. The 1,450sq m joint store is located in the heart of historic Covent Garden with entrances on Long Acre and Floral Street.
The store covers three expansive floors of UNIQLO LifeWear and Theory alongside beautiful original features. The Grade II-listed former Victorian carriage hall with open courtyard and vaulted glass atrium will focus on experience-led features for customers including; RE.UNIQLO Studio, UTme! and UNIQLO UK’s first cafe in store.
Alessandro Dudech, COO of UNIQLO UK, said: “It’s an honour to be opening in an area of London with such cultural and retail heritage and continuing to expand our U.K. presence in important retail locations. With such a strong footfall from both Londoners and tourists, we look forward to offering LifeWear to both new and existing UNIQLO customers.”
Theory’s latest, 113sq m store, is the next step in its exciting expansion in the U.K market as Theory continues to lead the global conversation in modern wardrobe essentials. Once opened, the Covent Garden store will take the total number of Theory stores in the U.K. to four.
Dinesh Tandon, Global CEO of Theory, said: “We are thrilled to open a new Theory store in Covent Garden, a dynamic and vibrant shopping destination loved by both tourists and locals alike. This opening, our fourth in London, marks a significant step in the continuation of Theory’s expansion plans for Europe. We are excited to offer customers elevated menswear and womenswear wardrobe essentials at Covent Garden and strengthen our brand presence in London.”
UT and UTme!
UT celebrates its 20th anniversary with new and archive designs, available in a large, dedicated UT area, located on the 2nd floor of the new store. Alongside our flagship 311 Oxford Street store, you will now be able to create your own UTme! designs in UNIQLO Covent Garden.
As part of the UTme! offering, UNIQLO are partnering with renowned London institution Transport for London (TfL), there will be exclusive UTme! designs available in the Covent Garden store, featuring their iconic roundel, tube map and designs inspired by heritage posters.
Ellen Sankey, brand licensing manager at TfL, said: “We are delighted to be working with UNIQLO on this exciting UTMe! range which will allow customers to add their own creative flair with our heritage designs. London Underground celebrates its 160th birthday this year and the roundels and artwork that have adorned the walls of our Tube network are as much a part of that history as the transport itself. We’re looking forward to people representing themselves and London in their UTMe! pieces inspired by the Tube.”
The Gallery and Terrace
The 2nd floor gallery will be home to UNIQLO UK’s first tearoom in store, for this we are partnering with London based Japanese tearooms Katsute100 to offer our customers Japanese inspired refreshments in their cafe and outside terrace.
Located next to the cafe will be RE.UNIQLO Studio where customers can recycle, repair or remake their favourite UNIQLO items so they can keep wearing and loving them for longer.
The RE.UNIQLO Studio features alongside local partnerships with South East London florist, JamJar Flowers and London based cafe Katsute100.
Platforming local businesses
As well as local cafe partner Katsute100, UNIQLO are partnering with South East London florist, JamJar Flowers to create floral displays inspired by the historic Covent Garden flower market alongside a pop-up of products available to buy in the Courtyard.
The new store opening in 2023 follows the Battersea Power Station Store that opened in October 2022 and will take the total number of UNIQLO stores in the U.K to 17.
Customers and fans are invited to share their excitement about the new store via the company’s social media channels including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok using #UniqloCoventGarden #LifeWear.
