Represent, one of Britain’s fastest growing fashion brands, is opening the doors to its first ever UK store this Saturday (26th October), following a period of mass growth. The luxury menswear brand is on track for a record £100M turnover by the end of 2024, and £250M turnover by 2028.
Founded in Manchester in 2011 by brothers George and Michael Heaton, its sales have grown at an average of 81.4% over the past three years, and it has gone from a business ran out of the brothers’ father’s shed, to being named the 68th fastest-growing private company in the UK by The Sunday Times in June.
The 5,419sq ft store, located on New Cathedral Street in Manchester City Centre, is the first permanent retail space for the brand in the UK, having opened a bespoke boutique store in West Hollywood, Los Angeles this March.
Manchester is a natural choice for the brand’s first UK store, as the city from which it was birthed, and the hometown of its founders, it’s integral to the DNA of Represent. Early next year, a second UK store in London’s Soho will follow, which will operate as a tailored concept store.
Until this year, Represent had been an online business selling via its website, with new arrivals launching weekly, alongside dedicated bespoke retail spaces in some of the UK’s top department stores, including Selfridges, Harrods, and END.
Following a year of rapid growth, an entire floor of the store will be dedicated to Represent’s performance wear division, 247 by Represent. 247 is now the fastest growing arm of the brand, projected to account for 14% of the business by the end of 2024.
The New Cathedral Street location will position Represent alongside fellow luxury retailers such as; Louis Vuitton, Selfridges, Paul Smith, Canada Goose, and Harvey Nichols in the heart of Manchester’s iconic shopping district.
George Heaton, creative director and founder of Represent, said: “As we continue to grow as a brand, opening our first physical UK store was a natural progression. Given that Represent was born in Manchester, and it’s where our global HQ is based, the city was the only choice – it is in our DNA.
“The Represent Manchester location marks an important and iconic milestone for the brand; having spent the past three years planning physical retail footprints, trialling the senses of energy, look, feel, and scent through our partners such as Selfridges and Harrods along the process.”
