Harrods has announced a national rollout of its standalone brand H beauty.

Following the successful introduction of two standalone stores last year, the Knightsbridge retailer will open three more H beauty boutiques in Edinburgh, Bristol, and Gateshead’s Metrocentre within the next year.

The department store first began rolling out its beauty brands last year, as part of a mission to take the Harrods beauty experience outside of London.

It opened its first H beauty store at Lakeside retail centre, Essex, followed by a second store launch at centre:mk, Milton Keynes.

It will open a new store in St James Quarter, Edinburgh, in the last quarter of the year, to be followed by an H beauty store at The Mall at Cribbs Causeway in Bristol early next year.

Later in 2022 the Metrocentre in Gateshead will become home to H beauty’s largest store yet.

The openings will bring the national H beauty footprint to over 127,000 sqft of prime beauty retail space, while also creating several hundred jobs in the North East, Bristol and Edinburgh.

Harrods has made considerable investments in its beauty offering in recent years, first with the Beauty Masterplan, an investment initiative that saw the opening of a new 90,000 sq ft Beauty Hall in the Knightsbridge store in 2019, and more recently with the launch of the standalone H beauty.

Despite the troubles of the retail environment, before and during the pandemic, Harrods said that both its new H beauty stores have thrived since opening.

The H shops have ‘playtables’ where customers can use products, alongside skincare stations, fast blow dry stations and even champagne bars.

The company said the announcement of the next three permanent H beauty openings is a milestone in the firm’s growth strategy.

It said the unprecedented circumstances of the last year has had a huge impact on the retail industry, forcing many retailers to close their doors, but that Harrods has consistently responded to the “changing retail landscape with bold and effective solutions”.

Harrods director of home and beauty Annalise Fard said: “This is a hugely important and exciting milestone for Harrods, as we continue with our ambitious plans to expand our domestic footprint through H beauty.

“The incredible response we have had to our first two H beauty store openings not only reflects the ongoing demand for exceptional, high quality retail experiences outside of London, but also the passion for beauty that exists amongst the customers we serve in these regions.

“We have no doubt that we will see a similar response in fantastic destinations we are taking H beauty to. We are so excited to continue building beauty communities around these new cities, each with their own unique beauty cultures, as well as employing beauty-lovers across each community to represent the H beauty brand.”