The British lifestyle brand is reportedly planning to open between eight and 12 stores across the UK and Ireland in 2022.
The first three of the planned stores are expected to open by mid-April, one in Kildare in Ireland and the other two in the southeast of England, according to a report by Drapers. The retailer expects to open 20 stores in total as part of its expansion strategy, with a focus on locations in market towns and coastal regions.
The move comes after Crew Clothing opened 20 locations across the UK in 2020, bringing its total store portfolio to around 100 locations.
David Butler, CEO, told Drapers that the retailer has been deterred from opening more stores across the UK due to the country’s business rate system. He said: “We are holding back on our store expansion plans because of the business rate issues. We are a business that has grown and grown, and we want to invest further in the UK, but (the burden of the business rates) is slowing the process down.”
He goes on to explain that instead the company is investing its money into stores in the Republic of Ireland, in retail partnerships in the Middle East, and in online partnerships in the Far East.
