Look inside: Morleys’ ‘menswear boutique’

Department shop chain Morleys, which has 8 retailers across the Uk like Wimbledon and Newbury, released its refurbished 3,500 sq ft menswear department at its Brixton branch in south London – its oldest – on 30 November.

The refresh is part of a head-to-toe refurbishment of the 41,000 sq ft retail store, which 1st opened in the 1880s.

Morleys CEO Nigel Blow explained the motivation for the revamp: “We realised there was a big prospect to start a repositioned retail store that consists of tons of new brand names. Brixton has transformed immeasurably in the last 5 years and is quickly turning into a desired destination for leisure, retail and nightlife.

“It has been a retail store we have needed to make investments in for a while. Owning the shop can make it less difficult for us to make adjustments.”

The revamped menswear section is now dwelling to a raft of new manufacturers, among the them Hugo Manager, CK Denims, Diesel, Barbour Intercontinental, Fred Perry, Hilfiger Denim, Lacoste, Levi’s and Vibrant Conventional.

“These brands will make our giving much more pertinent to the local purchaser,” Blow said. “For illustration, Hugo Manager is a good brand name that has traded brilliantly throughout our other stores.

“The revamp has also presented us an option to start smaller brand names this kind of as Colourful Conventional. We’re hoping these manufacturers will be more pertinent for our emerging purchaser in Brixton.”

Blow explained that Morley’s has aimed to shift away from a “traditional department store” supplying: “There are no described branded places [in the new menswear department]. The brand names are all buying and selling on our keep fixtures fairly than employing their own. We want it to be far more like a menswear boutique than a section keep with loads of branded shop matches.”

As aspect of the Brixton overhaul, on 18 December Morleys will start a 15,000 sq ft Kurt Geiger Boutique on the ground ground. It will provide men’s and women’s footwear from Kurt Geiger and 3rd-get together models like Aldo, Ted Baker and Steve Madden. The relaxation of the store’s refurbishment, which will involve a revamped splendor, homeware and add-ons segment, is thanks to total in Oct 2022.

Blow reported Morleys prepared to refurbish additional shops and was hoping to start out operate on its Pearsons of Enfield store up coming yr.

When approaching department retailer revamps, Blow claimed a personalised strategy was very important: “The prospects in just about every of our outlets are diverse. When we full a shopfit, we like to curate that merchandise provide and occur up with a glimpse and truly feel that will enchantment to each shopper.

“A excellent retail outlet for Brixton will not be a excellent store in Wimbledon. The vital is building each and every shop stand out, instead than appear the identical.

“Currently being agile and continuing to regulate to each and every of our local audiences has been key to us this calendar year, particularly when individuals have moved away from central London shopping. Our individualised approach has really served us to advantage from this.”