In a bid to attract shoppers post-pandemic and during the cost-of-living crisis, many brands are investing millions of pounds into refreshing their stores.
Retail Gazette takes a look at the retailers revamping their store estates this year.
Currys
Currys is in the process of transforming 65 of its stores across the UK to help “enhance customer experience”.
The retailer said its revamped stores – which so far include Aberdeen Garthdee, Bristol Winterstoke and Grantham – have been designed to make them more navigable for shoppers and to showcase a wider range of its latest tech.
As part of the refurbishment project, stores will feature increased ranges across categories including TV and computing, an enhanced space designed to serve customers better, a more efficient in-store mobile area, as well as back of house improvements to support store staff.
The refit is underpinned by the retailer’s Asset Reclaim Centre, which stores and provides recovered fixtures and fittings for reuse.
M&S
M&S has been embarking on its store rotation plan to make sure it has “the right stores, in the right place, with the right space” and last year invested £480m into “bigger, better stores” with 20 new shops opened.
Its revamp programme continues in earnest this year, when expects to open nine new food locations and up to four new full-line stores.
This includes a £30m investment in its London store estate. It will open two new food halls and renew up to 12 existing stores across the capital, including Blackheath, Chancery Lane, Islington and Teddington.
As part of its plans, M&S opened a 7,200 sq ft fresh-market style food hall in Sidcup on June 19, followed by an 18,000 sq ft location in Friern Barnet in August.
The 12 ‘renewal’ stores will benefit from bigger in-store bakeries, dedicated flower and wine shops and click-and-collect facilities.
Aldi
Aldi is investing £90m into store improvements this year, as it seeks to make sure its “shopping experience is on a par with the high-quality products”.
More than 30 of its sites will be given refurbishments over the summer, while over 100 are due to receive upgrades later in the year.
While the changes are set to vary by store, they will include providing more space to shop and introducing energy efficient features, such as installing doors on fridges and using natural refrigerants to reduce carbon emissions.
Aldi said the majority of the work would take place between June and August, and that its branches in Leek in the West Midlands, Newport in Shropshire and Brierly Hill in Dudley would undergo the biggest changes.
Asda
Asda launched a £50m store upgrade programme last month, in a bid to improve the shopping experience for customers across its larger supermarkets and superstores.
The grocery giant’s programme is set to run across 170 stores in total and is expected to be complete by the end of November.
While 50 of its larger stores are set to receive “major upgrades” including the introduction of new in-store services and features, the remaining sites will be given “refreshed exterior and interior decoration” to reflect its recent brand identity launch.
Over the coming months, work is being carried out across the supermarket’s stores in Coventry, Altrincham, Dundee and Charlton. The upgrades will take place over five weeks with shops remaining open during this time with “minimal disruption expected”.
Waitrose
The upmarket grocer revealed earlier this year it was spending a whopping near £1bn into upgrading its stores.
Waitrose executive director James Bailey said the company would be “renewing and refreshing” 80 of its existing supermarkets.
Bailey said the grocer had “some tests on the ground” at its Sudbury store in Suffolk, including making the shop brighter, more engaging for customers, as well as “revamping and doubling down on our counter and our service proposition”.
The supermarket expects that a “substantial amount of that newly refurbed future-facing store will arrive next year onwards”.
John Lewis
Sister chain John Lewis will also push the button on new store fits in some of its locations this autumn.
The department store is investing in 160 new shop enhancements in partnership with some of its suppliers and brands.
Executive director Peter Ruis said in March that “a typical example would be doubling the size of our beauty hall, which will happen in the autumn in Oxford Street. Those types of ‘interventions’ across our estate are happening every single month”.
The store fits will be supplemented by new technological enhancements to support customer service, including headsets which are being rolled out across teams.
The retailer revamped its Horsham store last year as it looked to test a series of new concepts and services to become a one stop destination for fashion, beauty, tech and home design.
Card Factory
Card Factory is inching closer to completing its store evolution programme.
The greetings card chain completed its space realignment project in 729 stores in the UK and Ireland, which saw space for its everyday card collection reduced by 7% to make way for a wider range – an increase of 16% – of its gifts and celebration essentials.
Card Factory said in its annual report that the capex-light initiative has had a positive impact on sales and is expected to payback within a year.
The second part of its store evolution programme includes a refit on a smaller number of shops following a successful trial in 2022.
The refurbished stores feature an “enhanced look and feel, easier navigation through the store and other design improvements, including increased store flexibility and operational efficiencies”.
It said the programme had delivered above its target 10% sales uplift and as such, set a new blueprint for future stores and refits.
EE
Telco giant EE is continuing the roll out of its new retail-focused format after pivoting the business to focus on “fulfilling all our consumer tech needs”.
The company is investing £6m in its store estate this year to launch new EE Studio stores and refurbish its small-format locations.
It comes as EE revealed last October that it would start selling smart fridges, TVs, kettles and fitness products as it branches out into the ecommerce market.
CEO Marc Allera said he is planning to take on Amazon and Currys to become one of the UK’s biggest seller of electrical goods.
New Look
New Look is set to invest £3.3m into upgrading and improving 20 stores in the Greater Manchester area.
The fashion retailer said it will trial several initiatives, including improving store layouts and designs, upgrading technology and offering enhanced training to colleagues, over the next 12 months to create a blueprint for further improvements across the rest of its estate.
New Look said a “significant part” of investment will go toward cosmetic upgrades to improve the in-store experience and product merchandising, as well as better align its shops to its brand identity.
It added its stores will offer a more tailored product approach to the region and will host interactive displays to showcase online exclusives and a wider range of outfits and footwear, which customers can browse from in store and order for next-day collection.
Primark
Primark is investing more than £100m in its UK stores this year as it marks 50 years on the British high street.
The fashion and home retailer, which was first opened in Dublin in 1969, is refurbishing 15 sites as part of its ongoing refit programme to reduce its carbon footprint across its property estate.
The £100m investment also includes three new shops, three relocations and two “significant extensions” to existing stores, such as its location in London’s Westfield Stratford City shopping centre.
River Island
River Island has been moving away from its loud branding over the last couple of years as it invests in its River Studios concept.
The fashion retailer has been steadily revamping its store estate to provide customers with an “elevated experience”, including most recently in its Manchester Arndale location.
The new format includes interactive dressing room and self checkouts, and delivers “a modern, seamless experience fit for the high street of today”.
The retailer has started updating three of its stores in Dublin, including Dundrum Town Centre, Swords and Blanchardstown, which will all reopen by September.
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