Polish retailer Reserved opening UK store this autumn

Polish retailer Reserved, part of LPP SA, one of the fastest-growing clothing companies in Central and Eastern Europe, is set to open its debut UK store in part of the former BHS flagship on London’s Oxford Street this autumn.

Reserved, which is the Polish version of H&M and Zara, has taken a 32,000 square foot store on London’s Oxford street that will house the fast fashion brand’s latest trends for women, men and children.

Commenting on its UK launch, Sławomir Ronkowski, LPP communications director said: “This is an important move for us as we look to grow the Reserved brand in Europe. London is an iconic fashion capital and crucial retail market, and the Oxford Street launch will help establish LPP as a global fashion retailer.”

In 2017, Reserved, the flagship brand of LPP will debut in four countries, the UK, Serbia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The company has also added that it is to accelerate its development in Russia and the Ukraine, where it plans to open new stores and launch online sales of all its brands.

In the UK, the Reserved flagship, which is due to open in September, will follow the launch of a dedicated UK e-commerce offering to introduce the brand to the British consumer. However, the brand has added that at present there are “no plans to expand to other UK locations”.

Reserved to open debut flagship store in London this September

In its recent statement, LPP stated that the total investment of the company in 2017 will amount to approximately 440 million Polish Zloty, around 90 million pounds.

LPP also has its sights set on the German market, adding that its expansion will be “consistently implemented”, and this year it has already opened a Reserved flagship in Hamburg, which will be followed by openings in Berlin and Cologne. The group sees “great potential” in the German market and considers it a long-term investment. In the fourth quarter of 2016, Germany, where the company manages 16 stores, was the fourth country in terms of revenues.

Founded 21 years ago by civil engineering graduate Marek Piechocki and fellow entrepreneur Jerzy Lubianiec, whose initials form the basis of the group’s name, LPP listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in 2001. It is now one of Poland’s top 20 listed companies.

LPP has over 1,700 stores worldwide with revenues of over 6 billion Polish Zloty (approximately 1.2 billion pounds) in 2016, an increase of 17 percent compared to the previous year. The business operates across Europe including Poland, Germany, Czech Republic and Slovakia, the Baltic countries, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Croatia. In 2015, it expanded into the Middle East with stores in Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and in 2016, LPP opened a store in the UAE.

The group has five brands: Reserved which is classed as the affordable clothing retailer with similarities to H&M and Zara for its on-trend pieces; House, which offers denim style clothing; Mohito, which joined LPP in 2009, offers clothing for “confident and independent” women; Cropp is the group’s youth brand; and Sinsay, founded in 2013, is dedicated to everyday styling for girls.

Images: courtesy of Reserved/LPP