Russian children’s apparel label Choupette prepares for UK debut

Choupette, a mid-segment children’s wear brand from Russia is set to move into new European markets. The Moscow-based label revealed to FashionUnited that it aims to open its first stand-alone store in London in spring 2018.

“The store in London is likely to open sometime next spring, but the most important thing is to choose the right location, so we are now looking at different areas in London,” said Anatasia Vasilkova, director of development at Choupette to FashionUnited RU. Choupette hopes to open its store near one of London’s busiest shopping areas, Oxford Street, but aims to secure the best location to best suit its brand offering and market positioning.

Choupette to move into new European markets

The brand specialises in offering high-end baby and children’s wear as well as homeware, producing its own products in Russia. Its design studio works together with a fashion agency based in New York to ensure its collections are always on trend and up to the premium standards. Choupette, which offers apparel for infants and children up to the age of 10, currently runs a number of flagship stores in Moscow, Russia as well as stores in the Ukraine and Armenia. The brand opened its first store in the United States in Los Angeles three years ago and opened its first store in Geneva, Switzerland in 2016.

In addition to setting its sights on expanding to the UK, Choupette also aims to open its first mono-brand stores in Spain and Germany next year. The brand has yet to decide on the location of its store in Barcelona, as they are deciding between opening the store in a shopping centre or city centre. “At the moment we represent the brand in Europe through a franchise system. The stores look just like our stores in Russia, offering the full assortment of collections, branded furniture, a carousel. But now our task is to expand to new markets through the opening of mono-branded stores,” said Vasilkova.

Following the opening of its first stand-alone stores, Choupette also aims to move into international wholesale to help build its brand’s presence abroad. "But in our opinion, this is a narrower path, because when you work with multibrand companies and your brand is poorly represented in this or that market, then it can ruin you,” warns Vasilkova. “That is why we want to first open our stand-alone stores and then move into wholesale.”

The children's wear brand has made a name for itself in its home market thanks to its romantic, lace ruffle dresses and multi-colour patterned designs. At the moment Choupette operates over 80 franchised stores in Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan and the Ukraine.

Photo: Choupette