Superdry’s first Studio concept store in the UK opened on Cheltenham’s Promenade at 10am on Wednesday 1 December 2021.
The newly opened Superdry Studio store blends performance sportswear and the brand’s classic-look ‘studio’ fashion, with plans to take the concept nationwide if it is successful, according to founder Julian Dunkerton.
The new concept sees more ‘classic, timeless fashion pieces’ alongside style-conscious sportswear, with the brand’s increasingly strong messages of longevity and sustainability.
Dunkerton and his elite team staged a pre-launch media party at the new 4,391 square foot store on Tuesday 30 November 2021, ahead of the opening.
For Dunkerton, who famously started the now public company on a market stall in 1985, the excitement was evident, and he told SoGlos the new store was personal.
‘This is my hometown. If we can make this work here, it will proliferate around the country,’ said Dunkerton.
‘I am confident where others see problems, I see opportunity. If you are working with landlords and can have sensible conversations and everyone is having the right thought processes then you can make the high street work. It has potential.’
Catherine Marshall, Superdry designer manager, formerly of Rapha – another sports brand to wear its British credentials on its sleeve – said the object was to challenge Nike and Adidas in the UK on style and performance.
If Dunkerton needed proof his confidence in a new shop was well-placed he need only look across town to Jade Holland Cooper’s new fashion store – opened in October 2021, also on the back of huge on-line success.
Jade, who is married to Dunkerton and attended the event with their one-year-old daughter, said the response from Holland Cooper customers had ‘exceeded expectations’.
For more information about Superdry and its plans for the future, see Superdry back on track for growth.
Read more: Superdry partners with Versarien to produce a new range of high-tech clothing
By Andrew Merrell
Follow SoGlos on LinkedIn and sign-up to the weekly SoGlos business newsletter for the very latest Gloucestershire business news stories.
