Vanilla chooses Bluewater for first physical store
Vanilla has chosen the Bluewater shopping destination as the location for its first physical store following the success of its online business and concessions.
The fashion brand has taken a 3,616 square foot space adjacent to H&M on Upper Thames Walk.
The store will sell Vanilla’s Blue Vanilla and Pink Vanilla labels as well as a new shoe and accessory collection that will not available anywhere else.
The brand operates on a global scale with its ecommerce site shipping to 150 countries. Its clothing can also be found in stores such as New Look and House of Fraser and on websites such as Next, Debenhams and Silk Fred.
Michelle Burns, head of retail Stores at Vanilla, said: “We were very selective when searching for the ideal location at which to launch our encompassed Vanilla flagship store, and Bluewater, with its impressive array of retail names and strong experiential offering, is the perfect destination for us to launch at. We have built up a strong reputation with our Blue Vanilla and Pink Vanilla brands through ecommerce and strong sales through concessions, including Bluewater.
“We wanted to continue to deliver trend-led, yet affordable options for females of all ages, and we are very excited to be taking the next step into physical retail with our first Bluewater flagship.”
Bluewater has also seen Sleep.8 and ProCook open new stores recently. Sleep.8 has launched a 4,800 square foot shop on Lower Thames Walk while ProCookhas taken a 2,100 square foot space next to John Lewis on the Lower Rose Gallery.
Rob Hardie, portfolio director for co-owner and asset manager of Bluewater, Landsec, said: “The addition of specialist and unique retail brands Vanilla, Sleep.8, and ProCook, is evidence of our efforts to consistently deliver trend-led retail options to our visitors. These brands and other recent openings, such as Zara’s global concept store, only strengthens Bluewater’s position as the retail industry rebounds post-pandemic.”
