Monsoon are set to become a digital-first brand. Before the lockdown the company operated 230 stores under the Monsoon & Accessorize banners, however the company is now planning to shrink the Monsoon chain to ten stores or fewer.
Speaking on an interview on BBC Radio 4, Peter Simon stated that less than ten per cent of the reopened stores will be branded Monsoon. Simon was not specific about the exact number of stores that will close and he sees Accessorize as a stronger prospect for physical locations due to relatively low levels of competition in its core categories, its low price points and its ability to slot neatly into travel retail location such as airports.
The digital-first refocus is a prospect faced by a number of labels this year with TM Lewin also facing the likelihood of a large number of store closures and digital being a bigger priority, while the purchase of Oasis and Warehouse by Boohoo has seen those brands going fully digital.
