IT’S been a tough year for the high street but there’s fresh hope in 2024 as several chains are set to open new sites.
Big-name brands will be making a long-awaited return, while others are expanding their already huge presence.
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This year, we’ve seen the likes of Wilko and M&Co go out of business, leaving shoppers heartbroken.
They’re not the only chains to exit the high street either, in fact more businesses have gone bust in England and Wales in recent months than since the 2009 financial crisis, according to Government figures.
But 2024 is set to refresh the British high street with a flurry of store openings.
These include the return of Wilko and other beloved brands, as well as B&M and Sephora opening new sites.
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Below we reveal the full list of chains opening shops in 2024.
Wilko
Despite collapsing earlier this year, Wilko has already begun its comeback.
The chain’s brand name and intellectual property was sold to The Range in a £5.5million deal.
Ahead of the national roll-out across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Wilko opened its first new concept stores on December 1.
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It initially said a total of five new sites will open before Christmas, but so far has only confirmed the locations of the first three.
That means you can now go into a Wilko store in Plymouth, Luton and Exeter, as they have already opened.
The company has also said it will be opening Wilko shops in Northern Ireland for the first time.
The roll-out will then continue in January with a view to having more shops open within months.
Bosses issued a major update on their plans and said up to 300 stores could reopen on Britain’s high streets.
Speaking to PlymouthLive, Alex Simpkin, CEO of The Range, said: “There are about 50 Wilkos openings in addition to these three.”
Several of these sites are expected to open in 2024.
B&M
B&M is set to open six new locations within weeks including in former Wilko stores.
The discounter agreed to buy up to 51 Wilko locations in a £13million deal back in September.
It’s taking on two former Wilko sites next month. One in Washington, Sunderland, on January 26 and the other in Porthmadog, Wales on January 18.
B&M will open a branch in Harrow, London, on February 10, then another in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, on February 21.
The retailer will cut the ribbon on a branch in Thamesmead, London, on February 22 and Beaumont Lays, Leicester, a day later.
B&M also said it would open a branch in Worthing, Sussex, in February or March next year after taking on the lease.
This is the full list of stores opening in the coming weeks:
- Porthmadog – January 18
- Washington – January 26
- Harrow – February 10
- Arnold – February 21
- Thamesmead – February 22
- Beaumont Lays – February 23
- Worthing – February/March
Peacocks
Peacocks is set to open six new stores soon.
It has also recently opened four shops around the UK taking the total number of new branches to 11.
The huge fashion chain fell into administration in November 2020 after the pandemic shut down high streets.
In April 2021, 200 of its over 420 stores were saved when it was bought out of administration by an international investment consortium, but 200 stores sadly closed.
However, it has been slowly reappearing on high streets around the country and has built back up to around 350 stores.
We now understand the following stores are set to open in the near future, although exact opening dates are yet to be confirmed:
- Marple
- Winchester
- Bexhill
- Street
- Penarth
- Ripon
We’ll keep you updated on the opening dates of these new sites when we know more.
M&Co
M&Co fell into administration for the second time in two years in December 2022.
M&Co’s brand and intellectual property were sold to Yours Clothing.
In June this year, the brand announced that it is planning to open 50 physical M&Co stores over the next two years in a surprise turnaround.
The stores were set to open in autumn but this has been delayed so far.
It’s not yet clear where the stores will be located or when they will open their doors but we’ll keep you updated.
Sephora
Sephora, the cult beauty retailer, is set to open its third UK store in Manchester next summer.
The opening marks the first Sephora store in the north of England.
The new store will be a megastore and is set to open in the city’s Trafford Centre.
Sephora announced the opening in an Instagram post, writing: “You heard correctly — Sephora is coming to the TRAFFORD CENTRE, MANCHESTER.
“Get your shopping baskets ready as we’re on our way up north! More to be revealed soon, see you in 2024… ”
The news comes soon after Sephora’s second store opened in November.
The site in Westfield Stratford spans over a mega 600sqm, offering over 100 brands to eager customers.
Back in March, Sephora opened its first UK store at Westfield London, in Shepherds Bush, after the launch of its website and app in autumn 2022.
Avon
Avon, the beauty brand with a 137-year history, is to open stores in the UK for the first time.
The brand is known for its door-to-door salespeople but announced in November that it will start opening its first shops within the next two months.
The UK stores will feature around 150 products, with the full range still only available through its representatives.
It’s part of the beauty giant’s plan for a wider global move into physical retailing.
Avon first launched the franchise store model in Turkey almost three years ago, where it now has 63 outlets, and Avon said it has seen sales growth double in the region.
The number of stores and their locations in the UK are yet to be confirmed.
Asda
Asda has opened a raft of new Express shops this year already.
The supermarket now has 229 Asda Express stores across the nation.
It recently announced it is on track to open 1,000 more sites throughout the UK and Northern Ireland by March 2024.
Asda also said it plans to launch 11 more Express stores in London during 2024.
Back in October, the retail giant launched a plan to convert 116 former Co-op convenience stores and attached petrol stations into Asda Express shops.
Asda acquired 132 sites from its rival supermarket Co-op last year under a £438m deal.
Costco
Costco is planning to open 14 new warehouses across the UK in the next two years.
The discount retailer is currently eyeing up the locations with hopes to open the new stores there “as soon as possible”.
The Sun understands this could feasibly be completed by 2025, although some stores could be delayed if the acquisitions take longer than planned.
Costco is currently looking to snap up warehouses to convert in the following locations:
Costco is also set to open a new site in Gloucester after it acquired a major site in Eastern Avenue, just off the M5 motorway in October.
The exact opening date has not yet been confirmed.
Costco currently has 29 stores across the UK including in Leeds, Derby and Croydon.
The 15 proposed new stores would take its total to 44.
Weird Fish
Weird Fish, a fashion chain sold by Next, is to open ten new stores next year.
The British firm which sells items on Next‘s website is preparing new outlets – and says market towns, city centres and holiday resorts are being targeted.
The Lake District in Cumbria and surrounding areas such as Liverpool and Manchester are among priority areas ahead.
New branches would add to Weird Fish’s existing 29 UK stores.
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It has already launched eight extra shops this year – including in Ambleside in Cumbria, Boscastle in Cornwall and Evesham in Worcestershire.
Others openings came in Southwold and Aldeburgh in Suffolk, St David’s in Pembrokeshire in Wales, Trentham in Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire and Whitstable in Kent.
