// New Look will open its first ever clearance store this week at The Boulevard outlet centre in Northern Ireland
// The move into outlet comes as New Look boss Nigel Oddy looks to improve its full-price sales following its CVA in 2020 which allowed it to move to turnover-based rents at its 400 stores
Fashion retailer New Look will open its first ever clearance store this week.
The store will open on Friday in Northern Ireland’s The Boulevard centre, an outlet retail scheme situated just off the A1 road that links Belfast to Dublin.
The 2,406 sq ft store is New Look’s first venture into clearance retail and will sell womenswear, footwear and accessories.
New Look’s move into outlet stores comes as the retailer pushes ahead with turnaround efforts following its company voluntary arrangement in 2020 that allowed it to move to turnover-based rents at its more than 400 stores.
New Look boss Nigel Oddy’s strategy is focused on driving profitability through full-price sales. The opening of outlet stores could help the retailer reduce discounting in its core stores and online.
The retailer returned to profit in its last financial year to 27 March, 2021, despite the impact of the pandemic. Despite sales falling 40% to £542 million, it recorded a statutory pre-tax profit of £108 million against a pre-tax loss of £430 million the previous year.
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New Look head of property Emma Lessani said The Boulevard’s “high trading figures and large footfall of key audience demographics”, made it the right location for it to trial its first outlet store.
Lessani promised “fantastic value on last season’s fashions”.
New Look joins brands such as Kurt Geiger, Guess, Jack Wills and Levi’s, which also trade from The Boulevard.
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