Flannels to add 165 new brands for AW21, open new stores

Flannels plans to introduce 165 new brands for AW21, open new UK stores and introduce new categories as its owner Frasers Group pushes forward with its elevation strategy.

The British luxury retailer plans to open a minimum of 10 regional stores each year, with no definitive end date, alongside a refurbishment programme of its existing 47 stores, the company told Drapers.

It also plans to open three new flagships this year: Ones in Sheffield Meadowhall and Leicester Fosse Park in the summer and another in Liverpool in November.

Liverpool will be the largest of the three - a 120,000 square foot store at Parker Street in the Owen Owen building.

Flannels is also introducing new categories including home accessories, jewellery and childrenswear.

Two new appointments to lead elevation

As part of the retailer’s expansion, head of elevation Michael Murray introduced two new roles in February: Ben Hurren was appointed to the newly-created role of head of menswear elevation and Emma Ilori as head of womenswear elevation.

Hurren joined the company as senior commercial manager in November 2020 from Selfridges, while Ilori joined Flannels in February for the new role having worked as a consultant for the company a year earlier. She has previously held senior buying roles at Farfetch and The Shop at Bluebird.

Hurren told Drapers: “The new role focuses on product and styling in stores. It is about building new menswear categories for our flagship stores and online, including streetwear, denim, and tailoring.

“We are introducing 65 new menswear brands for autumn/winter 21 in line with the new flagship stores opening this year, including Bottega Veneta, Acne Studios, A Cold Wall, Craig Green, Daily Paper, and Pleasures. Flannels has also been confirmed as the new distributor of Fear of God Essentials from September.”

Ilori said: “The plan for me is to look at all of the Flannels flagship stores, as well as womenswear holistically. I will be adding in new brands and new categories, and working closely on what that looks like in stores.

“We are launching around 100 new women’s brands for AW21, in line with the new shops opening. These include Bottega Veneta, Acne Studios, Cult Gaia, Sporty & Rich, Gia Couture Firenze, Paris Texas, Saks Potts, Anine Bing, and Ganni. We’re also introducing popular Instagram brands into stores, including Pretty Lavish and Never Fully Dressed. We’re going after denim and loungewear in a big way.”