Cath Kidston opens largest store

Fashion and homewares retailer Cath Kidston, best known for its ‘modern vintage’ prints, opened its largest flagship store in London’s Piccadilly, sandwiched between Fortnum & Mason and The Ritz yesterday. Spanning 3 storeys, the

7,070 square foot flagship is around 4 times the size of a typical Cath Kidston outlet and carries more than 20,000 products from the brand’s signature 50 pound day bag, which the retailer states 4 are sold every 5 minutes in the UK and Europe to the brand’s iconic mugs, and extensive clothing collection.

As well as carry the brand’s typical fashion and homeware products, the flagship is also home to the brand’s exclusive Piccadilly Print, which pays homage to the retailers new home with a hand-drawn scene showcasing the Big Smoke’s icons including double decker buses, black taxis and pigeons of London.

The store also hosts various new ranges and services including the Cath Kidston bespoke furniture upholstery service. For the first time customers can browse their favourite prints, historic and new and create a unique sofa or chair for their home. In addition, to tap into the holiday rush, the flagship has a Christmas House, which has been created to showcase the brand’s festive offering with over 860 gift ideas being displayed.

Kenny Wilson, Chief Executive at Cath Kidston Limited said: “The launch of our London flagship is an exciting step in our strategy for growth in the UK and abroad. Being able to open our biggest ever store in our 20th year marks a very significant and celebratory time for the Cath Kidston brand.

“London is the right location for our flagship as it is where the brand originates from, where our headquarters is based, and is a central hub for both our UK and international customers. We chose Piccadilly as the best location for our flagship because it is a destination and the perfect place to showcase our brand to the world. We are taking everything we know our customers already love about Cath Kidston stores and building that into a new retail concept that will brighten up our customer’s day and complement our brand.”

Cath Kidston opens London flagship

This year marks the brand’s 20th anniversary and this store is a far cry from the first Cath Kidston shop in Holland Park in West London where the company began in 1993. Since then the brand has become a global name, with the flagship being the retailers 143 store worldwide. The Piccadilly store will not be the last of the year to open, between now and Christmas it is reported that the brand is to open eight more stores in Asia.

Cath Kidston, founder and creative director added: "Twenty years ago, when it first began, in a small shop in Holland Park, I never imagined that we would have over 100 stores across the UK, Europe and Asia. We are so excited about the London flagship launch and delighted that we have found this perfect landmark site in Piccadilly. It fits our brand perfectly."

The opening was celebrated with London taxis covered in iconic Cath Kidston prints, carol singers, snow machines, and even the streets around the store were covered in clean graffiti in one of the brand’s floral prints. There was also a queue of more than 150 die-hard fans of floral and polka-dot prints waiting to be the first through the doors. One shopper stated that she had been there since 5am and that her house was filled with the brand that she wanted “something” from the largest store.

The UK flagship is rounding off a great year for the brand, for the 12 months ending April 1, 2013 the company’s annual turnover tipped over 100 million pounds for the first time, helped by popularity abroad especially in Japan, where the brand already has 33 stores.