In Review 2024: Store openings, refurbs and expansions

2024 has seen a lot of change in the fashion and retail industry, with many high-profile fashion businesses opening new retail locations, upsizing existing stores and introducing new technologies.

As we approach 2025, TheIndustry.fashion has curated a list of the top ten important updates and openings from the past year.

Castore opened its new concept store in Dublin - the first of 24 more stores to open in 2024

British sportswear brand Castore opened a new 1,690 sq ft flagship store in the Grafton Buildings at 34 Grafton Street in Dublin, described as "the first-of-its-kind" as the brand prepared to roll out a further 24 stores across the UK in 2024.

Castore already had a firm footing in the Irish market, as the official kit supplier to both the men’s and women’s national football teams, as well as Leinster rugby club.

Castore's two-story space joined fashion retailers such as Jigsaw and Sweaty Betty on Grafton Street, which it described as "one of Europe’s busiest shopping streets". It features teamwear from Leinster, FAI, McLaren, and Red Bull, alongside mainline stock including its recent Reiss x Castore SS24 collaboration.

Sports Direct opens Cardiff flagship featuring new Outdoor concept

Known for constantly making retail moves, it comes as no surprise that Frasers is moonlighting in this feature. In February, Frasers Group-owned Sports Direct opened a flagship store at 63-67 Queen Street in Cardiff. Spanning 60,000 sq ft across three floors, it features the retailer’s 'Outdoor' concept, with brands including The North Face, Columbia, Salomon and Karrimor.

The Cardiff location marked the fourth Sports Direct flagship to open, adding to stores in London, Birmingham and Manchester.

Ger Wright, Managing Director of Sports at Frasers Group, said: "As we continue to elevate our unique proposition, the opening of our new Cardiff flagship store marks the launch of our eagerly anticipated new Outdoor category concept as it continues to be a growing area of interest for our consumers."

Primark opened an upsized store at Westfield Stratford

Also towards the beginning of the year, in March, Primark opened the doors to its upsized store at Westfield Stratford City.  At 82,400 sq ft and set over four floors, it is almost double the size of its original two-story unit.

Now one of Primark’s largest UK stores, and the second largest in London, the revamped space is carrying an even broader range of the retailer’s womenswear, menswear, kidswear, home and beauty lines.

Conveniently, customers can use Primark’s online stock checker to check the availability of specific styles before heading in-store. There is also a Click + Collect service for customers across womenswear and kidswear.

Uniqlo reopened bigger and better Westfield White City store

Uniqlo reopened the doors to a renovated and expanded store at Westfield White City, in October. The new store offers customers an "enriched" shopping experience.

After 10 months of renovation, the space features two extensive floors of LifeWear will feature womenswear, menswear and an expansive Kids & Baby area plus a dedicated play area for kids.

Alessandro Dudech, Chief Operating Officer of Uniqlo UK, said: "We are excited to re-open our White City Westfield store and welcome back customers to explore our larger and more vibrant store, the new store offers a large kids and baby department, and with our kids play area, hope to provide a fun and enjoyable space for families to shop and enjoy."

Future Stores brought the dynamism of social media to retail with a new concept on Oxford Street

Future Stores, a retail concept that blends the worlds of media, retail and digital performance marketing, opened its doors on London's Oxford Street.

The 435 sqm store at 95 Oxford Street houses an ever-changing rota of well-known brands, who can use the multi-media space to showcase their offer to the 1.3 million people who pass by the door on a weekly basis.

It features state-of-the-art LEDs covering 400 sqm of wall and ceiling space, alongside innovative data capture to provide unique customer insights to anyone hiring the space. This creates a hybrid retail-media platform that helps brands "captivate audiences, drive impactful marketing campaigns, and generate sales".

A combined Frasers and Sports Direct store opened at Maidstone’s Fremlin Walk

The first combined 70,000 sq ft Frasers and Sports Direct was opened at the Fremlin Walk Shopping Centre in Maidstone, Kent.

It came after Frasers Group acquired the 350,000 sq ft centre, and has also opened a 5,000 sq ft Flannels store – bringing a new luxury retail offering to Maidstone, with brands including Represent, Palm Angels and Vivienne Westwood.

Set across two floors, the new Frasers concept store also incorporates Frasers Group’s other retail brands, from USC and Jack Wills to Evans Cycles, GAME and Sofa.com.

Zara opened a 51,000 sq ft flagship store at Birmingham's Bullring

In November, Zara opened the doors to a shiny new 51,000 sq ft store at Birmingham's Bullring & Grand Central shopping centre. This marked the completion of repurposing the former Debenhams department store.

Bringing its latest store concept to Birmingham, Zara showcases its full range of womenswear, menswear, and childrenswear across two floors.

This latest move is in line with Zara's global flagship store strategy, which sees it focusing its store roll-out on fewer, larger, tech-enabled stores in prime retail locations. Earlier this year, the brand also announced a major upsize of its store at Liverpool ONE.

H&M reopened at Westfield Stratford with its first concept store in UK

In the same month, H&M reopened the doors to its Westfield Stratford store with a brand new technology-centric concept that is yet to be seen in the UK.

After an extensive renovation, the concept store provides improved omni-channel services to make shopping more fluid and innovative than ever. Here, shoppers are invited to browse a curated selection of H&M's womenswear, menswear, kid’s fashion, beauty, and homeware.

As for technology updates, fitting rooms will be interactive, where screens recognise products to provide tailored styling tips. Through the screens, customers can easily request a different colour and size as well as recommended garments directly to the fitting room with a simple push of a button. If they're out of stock, they can conveniently order items online via the tablet. Mobile checkouts have also been fitted alongside self-service checkouts.

Peter Alexander headed to the UK with three new, high-impact stores

The golden quarter was a busy time for retailers. Also in November, the Australian premium sleepwear and lifestyle brand Peter Alexander headed to the UK with a website and three high-impact stores.

The popular brand, which operates 135 stores across Australia and New Zealand, launched online in the UK in October with the retail stores following in November.

It identified three of the UK's most high-profile shopping malls for its debut in the market with Westfield White City's opening on 2 November, Westfield Stratford City'a on 9 November, and Bluewater Kent'a on 23 November.

Each of the stores are imbued with the "glossy and playful spirit" of the brand’s founder and Creative Director Peter Alexander, who promises "a multi-sensory voyage of retail discovery led by the brand’s signature scent".

Marks & Spencer opened its first fashion boutique-style store at Battersea Power Station

Towards the end of the year, Marks & Spencer opened a clothing and beauty boutique-style store at Battersea Power Station. The first-of-its-kind store showcases the best of the high street giant's fashion range for men and women (with an emphasis on its premium lines) as well as an edit of its beauty officer.

The 8,400 sq ft space is smaller than typical M&S stores, adding to the boutique feel. In an effort to access a more affluent customer base and take on high street rivals such as Zara and Mango, neon-lit areas to spotlight M&S' premium offerings including Jaeger and Autograph. Meanwhile, its beauty offer is now considered to be one of the best on the high street featuring a wide selection of its own brand ranges alongside major names including Nuxe, Philip Kingsley, Stila and much more.