AN ICONIC fashion and homeware chain is making a triumphant return to the high street with the opening of its first new store next month.
Cath Kidston, which closed all its high street locations in June 2023, will unveil a brand new store on 18 October, The Sun can reveal.
The new shop, which is now being teased in a video on Cath Kidston’s Instagram page, will be located at Westfield White City, London[/caption]
Renowned for its charming floral designs and quirky vintage-style homeware, Cath Kidston has been a beloved fixture on the British high street since 1993.
However, the retailer entered administration in April 2020 and was subsequently rescued by Next through a pre-pack administration deal last year.
Next acquired the Cath Kidston brand name, domain names, and intellectual property for £8.5 million last year.
But, the agreement did not include any of the brand’s physical shops.
As a result, Cath Kidston’s four remaining standalone stores closed their doors for the final time in June 2023.
Since then, shoppers have only been able to purchase Cath Kidston products exclusively through Next, both online and in-store.
This will change on Friday, 18 October, when the chain’s first new store since its sale to Next will open.
The new shop, which is now being teased in a video on Cath Kidston’s Instagram page, will be located at Westfield White City, London.
Cath Kidston posted on Instagram and said: “Why yes. Yes, you guessed right.
“We do indeed we have a new home opening soon. Can anyone tell where in London we’ll be opening our doors?”
Next refused to comment when The Sun asked if it has plans for more store openings in the future.
HISTORY OF CATH KIDSTON
CATH Kidston was founded in 1993 by Cath Kidston, a British designer known for her vintage-inspired prints and nostalgic floral patterns.
The first shop opened in London’s Holland Park, initially selling hand-embroidered tea towels and brightly coloured furniture.
Over the years, the brand expanded its range to include clothing, accessories, and homeware, quickly becoming a beloved name in British fashion and design.
Cath Kidston’s distinctive aesthetic, often characterised by whimsical and cheerful motifs, has garnered a loyal following both in the UK and internationally.
At its peak, the retailer operated out of more than 200 stores.
Despite facing financial challenges and ownership changes, the brand continues to be celebrated for its quintessentially British charm and creativity.
RETAIL WOES
Cath Kidston initially collapsed into administration back in April 2023.
The retailer immediately closed 60 UK stores, leaving 908 staff members redundant.
The brand was bought by Next in March 2023.
In the interim, the retailer’s four remaining stores and e-commerce website continued to operate as usual.
However, the chain’s website was taken down in early June, and customers visiting it were automatically redirected to Next.co.uk.
Cath Kidston’s stores in Ashford, York, Cheshire Oaks and Picadilly then closed for the final time on June 25, 2023.
Shoppers were lucky enough to bag items up to 70% during a major clearance sale ahead of these closures.
Next has been known to save failing companies from administration.
In November 2022, it bought furniture store Made.com, which sold its intellectual property, brand and website to the retailer.
Next started selling Gap clothing online in late 2021 too, after it took over the running of the high street brand.
Earlier in 2023, it took a stake in baby and maternity clothing retailer JoJo Maman Bebe.
Cath Kidston isn’t the only bust chain to be reopening high street store.
Fashion chain M&Co returned to the high street in April after previously collapsing into administration and closing all stores.
The chain opened its first new store on May 3 in Newton Mearns, Scotland.
Why are retailers closing shops?
EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre’s decline.
The Sun’s business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.
In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.
Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open. In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.
The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.
Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead.
Boss Stuart Machin recently said that when it relocated a tired store in Chesterfield to a new big store in a retail park half a mile away, its sales in the area rose by 103%.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Wilko, Debenhams Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Paperchase to name a few.
What’s increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.
MORE STORE OPENINGS
Several major retailers are defying the trend of store closures by actively opening new shops.
German discounter Aldi has announced it will open 35 new UK stores this year. The openings form part of Aldi‘s long-term target of operating 1,500 stores in the UK.
Asda has been opening hundreds of convenience stores as it looks to rival major players Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
Purepay Retail Limited , the parent company of Bonmarché, Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM) and Peacocks, Purepay Retail Limited, has said it wants to open 100 new high street stores over the next 18 months.
Home Bargains has said it wants to “eventually have between 800 and 1,000 retail outlets open”.
Primark is also opening new branches and investing and renovating more than a dozen of its existing shops.
Screwfix is set to open 40 new stores nationwide as its owner, Kingfisher, seeks to expand the DIY brand’s national presence.
Tesco has revealed plans to open 70 more stores across the UK over the next year as part of major expansion plans.
WHSmith has turned its focus to the travel side of its business, with plans to open new sites in airports, railway stations and hospitals.
