// Oliver Bonas to open 8 new stores this year
// Will create at least 80 new retail jobs
// New stores will bring total store count to 85
Oliver Bonas is bucking the challenges and decline plaguing the high street with the announcement of eight new stores slated to open this year.
The fashion retailer’s expansion plan will see the creation of at least 8 new jobs and bring its total store estate to 85 by the end of the year.
The retailer added that the expansion is being supported by a £15 million revolving credit facility from HSBC UK.
The first of the new stores will open at Gatwick Airport’s North Terminal, with the retailer eyeing up new markets across the UK for the other seven stores it wants to open this year.
Oliver Bonas said it has experienced “increasing demand” for its stores in new regions across the UK, after successful launches on high streets such as Harborne in Birmingham, Exeter and Milton Keynes.
While the core market remains in London, the retailer said its growing portfolio across the UK has been “vital to its success in the face of challenging circumstances”.
“Whilst trade on the high street has been challenging, Oliver Bonas continues to grow,” founder and managing director Oliver Tress said.
“We have stuck to the core principle that makes our lifestyle offer unique: doing our little bit to make living a joyful experience.
“For us, this means best in-class customer service, a welcoming and inspiring experience in store and online and a highly curated homeware and fashion collection, all designed in house in our Oliver Bonas Studio.”
HSBC UK’s funding will allow not just Oliver Bonas finance the new stores, but also to invest in new products and develop its in-house design capability.
“Our relationship with HSBC UK has centred around a supportive team that has recognised that the evolving retail market is opening up opportunities for vertical brands with a loyal customer base,” Tress said.
“HSBC has seen the value of the Oliver Bonas brand today – and how we are well placed to take advantage of this shift in the retail market in the UK and overseas.”
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