H&M Unveils Luxe, Tech-savvy Interiors Concept at Westfield Stratford City in London
LONDON — H&M has a new look, and it’s a lot more like a high-end specialty store than a high street one.
On Thursday, the Swedish retailer unveiled new, luxe interiors at two of its biggest stores, in London and New York. The new-concept openings follow earlier ones in Stockholm and Seoul.
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Both stores have a luxury feel, with interiors done in sleek Scandi-style oak, stainless steel and glass, while there are special departments dedicated to womenswear, menswear, lingerie, activewear and beauty.
The London store at Westfield Stratford City also stocks a new, high-end children’s offer called H&M Adorables and houses an H&M Home shop-in-shop that’s all decked out for the holidays.
Both stores boast advanced tech. Changing rooms have been fitted with touch screens that offer styling tips, and the chance to order online, or request different sizes. Shop assistants are equipped to do mobile checkouts anywhere on the shop floor.
“The overall vision is about offering an elevated, immersive experience, sleeker design and a premium feel, all at affordable prices,” said Klas Degeryd, head of property and expansion, U.K. and Ireland, during a walk-through of the newly refurbished store.
The U.K. is one of H&M’s top three markets worldwide after the U.S. and Germany, and the Stratford store, near the site of the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics in East London, is the top performer in the local portfolio, alongside the Oxford Circus unit.
The store spans nearly 55,000 square feet over three floors, and is meant to accommodate the heavy footfall at Westfield Stratford. The mall gets around 50 million visitors each year, from London and the wider southeast of England.
Interiors were designed by the in-house team at the H&M headquarters in Stockholm, and Degeryd said the aim was to “let the product speak. We want customers to look at the product, and be inspired by how we’ve curated it. We wanted the experience to be very visual.”
The main womenswear floor includes a beauty and fragrance area — H&M’s largest in the U.K. — and the feel is fresh and airy. Merchandise is displayed on racks with lots of space between them, and many of the items have been grouped by color, making the floor easy to navigate.
There are few shelves, or traditional floor stands. A few mannequins are dotted around the space, but other outfits hang from frames, or sit on stylish plinths and tables.
Clothing and accessories are located right next to the mannequins and styled displays, meaning that shoppers can find them easily, rather than having to dash around the store trying to put the look together themselves.
The men’s and children’s areas are merchandised in a similar way, with lots of space to browse, try on, and buy. The store is also the only one in the U.K. to stock the new H&M Adorables brand for newborns, babies and older children, a premium offer that features cashmere knitwear and wool and cotton clothing.
H&M Adorables is also stocked in a special pop-up space at Selfridges, marking H&M’s first move into a luxury department store. Adorables launched earlier this fall with prices that are only slightly higher than the main children’s range.
The new in-store technology is aimed at making the customer experience as easy as possible. In addition to doing shop floor checkout via mobile devices, shop assistants will be able to tell customers where they can find a specific item, and check whether certain styles or sizes are in stock.
The store has online-offline integration, with click-and-collect services. Customers are able to order and return online merchandise in-store.
Degeryd said the plan is to roll out the new retail concept to “key commercial cities” in the U.K., and integrate parts of the new format into the smaller H&M stores across the country.
In certain key stores, such as the one in Oxford Circus, the company has been working with outside agencies on special installations and in-store events, including concerts with Charli XCX, which took place in London during fashion week in September, and at the Times Square store earlier this week.
He added that in the U.K., H&M is focusing on “investing in, upgrading and elevating” the 200 stores in the existing portfolio.
H&M is bullish on the hyper-competitive U.K. market, and Degeryd said the overall aim is to “stay competitive, and stay true to our core business of offering fashion and affordability.”
The U.K. has long been a top market for the Swedish fast-fashion retailer, which first landed here in 1974, with the mission of “liberating fashion for the many.” It currently employs 8,500 people in the U.K., and operates three distribution centers.
Millions belong to the H&M loyalty program, and on Thursday more than 500 of them lined up outside the new store to attend the opening event. The brand was offering 20 percent discounts, and serving juice, coffee and doughnuts to early shoppers.
The first 200 in line also got a 20 pound gift voucher and bunch of flowers, in H&M red, while anyone who spent more than 10 pounds got a gift of items from the accessories, home and beauty collections.
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