Lucy & Yak is gearing up to relocate its Manchester store to a larger site in the city.
The new store will open on Oldham Street in the heart of Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
The relocated two-storey shop will be twice the size of the retailer’s former site on the High Street. It will feature a full floor dedicated to PreLoved items, as well as two accessible fitting rooms and a wheelchair lift.
The new store will initially open its doors to customers on 10 September during Manchester Fashion Week, ahead of its official launch on 12 September with a party and ribbon-cutting.
“A much better home for Lucy & Yak”
Lucy & Yak’s former Oldham Street store has not been around for long. It opened in 2023, with the fashion retailer replacing the area’s former gift shop Oklahoma.
Explaining why Lucy & Yak chose to move its Manchester shop to a larger space, the company’s managing director Lydia Coley says it has “found a much better home for Lucy & Yak in Manchester”.
“Oldham Street is right in the heart of the Northern Quarter, so the new shop gives us far greater visibility and much better footfall,” she explains.
“It puts us right amongst the energy and creativity that made the area such a natural fit for us.”
She also notes that “accessibility is just as important”.
“Our previous shop had steps up to the entrance, which created a real barrier for some customers,” she says.
“The ground floor of the new shop is completely accessible, and in October we’re installing a wheelchair lift so customers can also access the basement floor.”
A dedicated space for PreLoved items
The new shop’s ground floor features Lucy & Yak’s main collection while its basement forms a “full PreLoved destination” with “rails of second-hand Yaks”.
Explaining more about its PreLoved floor, Coley says: “This is the first time we have given PreLoved a space of this scale, and that feels like a big step.
“Customers will find genuine Lucy & Yak pieces that have been owned before and are ready to be loved by someone else, alongside one-off pieces repaired or reworked by Cat and Sam in our Re:Yak Studio in Barnsley.
“The simplest way to explain it is that Re:Yak brings pieces back to us, PreLoved helps suitable pieces find their next wearer, and Re:Yak Studio repairs, reworks and customises.
“Giving PreLoved a whole floor means it can stand as a proper shopping destination in its own right.”
As part of Lucy & Yak’s “commitment to championing local creatives,” the brand teamed up with Manchester-based illustrator, animator and designer Rick Hyde who designed a “bright, bold and playful artwork piece” for the shop’s storefront.
Additionally, on the shop’s launch day, customers will have the chance to meet Hyde, see five pieces of his artwork, and shop limited-edition totes and tees signed by the designer.
Shoppers can also customise pieces with the illustrator’s embroidered patches through its in-store Re:Yak Studio on opening day.
“Rick has created the artwork across the new storefront, with loads of references to Manchester woven into it,” Coley explains.
“On launch day, we are bringing those designs off the windows and into a live upcycling and embroidery workshop in the shop.
“Customers will be able to customise pieces using exclusive Rick Hyde designs, and Rick will be there in the morning to meet people and talk about the mural.
“It is a lovely meeting point between his work and Re:Yak Studio’s whole purpose, helping people make clothes feel more personal and keep enjoying them.”
Plans for its wider store estate
In terms of Lucy & Yak’s broader store estate, the business is preparing to run a PreLoved sale across participating shops from 24 to 27 September.
“For four days, a much bigger part of each Lucy & Yak shop will be given over to previously owned Yaks, repaired pieces, and some one-off Re:Yak Studio work,” the exec explains.
“We celebrate circularity and invite our community to do the same.
“There will be one golden ticket hidden in each participating shop on each day. Whoever finds it can exchange it at the till for their favourite item.”
The brand currently has 17 UK stores, including two outlets. While Coley says it plans to keep growing, she assures it is “not chasing a store-count target for the sake of it”.
“We look for places where we can already see a strong Lucy & Yak community, where the local retail environment suits us and where the shop can work commercially for the long term,” she says.
“We also want our shops to do more than sell clothes. Manchester shows that direction clearly, with PreLoved, Re:Yak and room for workshops and community activity all becoming a bigger part of the experience.”
Looking at where Lucy & Yak is planning to launch its next stores, Coley says it is currently looking at Leeds, Oxford, Birmingham and Glasgow, with “Leeds first in our working sequence”.
“These are working plans rather than opening announcements, because property timings can always move,” she notes.
“What connects them is that we can already see a real fit with the Lucy & Yak community.
“Leeds has a large student population and a strong independent scene. Birmingham is an important gap for us and opens up a much bigger regional audience.
“Oxford has a healthy independent retail culture, and Glasgow feels culturally aligned with us while complementing the community we already have in Edinburgh.
“We will confirm each opening once the location and timetable are properly locked.”
Lucy & Yak’s MD on new Manchester location: “a much better home”
Lucy & Yak is gearing up to relocate its Manchester store to a larger site in the city.
The new store will open on Oldham Street in the heart of Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
The relocated two-storey shop will be twice the size of the retailer’s former site on the High Street. It will feature a full floor dedicated to PreLoved items, as well as two accessible fitting rooms and a wheelchair lift.
The new store will initially open its doors to customers on 10 September during Manchester Fashion Week, ahead of its official launch on 12 September with a party and ribbon-cutting.
“A much better home for Lucy & Yak”
Lucy & Yak’s former Oldham Street store has not been around for long. It opened in 2023, with the fashion retailer replacing the area’s former gift shop Oklahoma.
Explaining why Lucy & Yak chose to move its Manchester shop to a larger space, the company’s managing director Lydia Coley says it has “found a much better home for Lucy & Yak in Manchester”.
“Oldham Street is right in the heart of the Northern Quarter, so the new shop gives us far greater visibility and much better footfall,” she explains.
“It puts us right amongst the energy and creativity that made the area such a natural fit for us.”
She also notes that “accessibility is just as important”.
“Our previous shop had steps up to the entrance, which created a real barrier for some customers,” she says.
“The ground floor of the new shop is completely accessible, and in October we’re installing a wheelchair lift so customers can also access the basement floor.”
A dedicated space for PreLoved items
The new shop’s ground floor features Lucy & Yak’s main collection while its basement forms a “full PreLoved destination” with “rails of second-hand Yaks”.
Explaining more about its PreLoved floor, Coley says: “This is the first time we have given PreLoved a space of this scale, and that feels like a big step.
“Customers will find genuine Lucy & Yak pieces that have been owned before and are ready to be loved by someone else, alongside one-off pieces repaired or reworked by Cat and Sam in our Re:Yak Studio in Barnsley.
“The simplest way to explain it is that Re:Yak brings pieces back to us, PreLoved helps suitable pieces find their next wearer, and Re:Yak Studio repairs, reworks and customises.
“Giving PreLoved a whole floor means it can stand as a proper shopping destination in its own right.”
As part of Lucy & Yak’s “commitment to championing local creatives,” the brand teamed up with Manchester-based illustrator, animator and designer Rick Hyde who designed a “bright, bold and playful artwork piece” for the shop’s storefront.
Additionally, on the shop’s launch day, customers will have the chance to meet Hyde, see five pieces of his artwork, and shop limited-edition totes and tees signed by the designer.
Shoppers can also customise pieces with the illustrator’s embroidered patches through its in-store Re:Yak Studio on opening day.
“Rick has created the artwork across the new storefront, with loads of references to Manchester woven into it,” Coley explains.
“On launch day, we are bringing those designs off the windows and into a live upcycling and embroidery workshop in the shop.
“Customers will be able to customise pieces using exclusive Rick Hyde designs, and Rick will be there in the morning to meet people and talk about the mural.
“It is a lovely meeting point between his work and Re:Yak Studio’s whole purpose, helping people make clothes feel more personal and keep enjoying them.”
Plans for its wider store estate
In terms of Lucy & Yak’s broader store estate, the business is preparing to run a PreLoved sale across participating shops from 24 to 27 September.
“For four days, a much bigger part of each Lucy & Yak shop will be given over to previously owned Yaks, repaired pieces, and some one-off Re:Yak Studio work,” the exec explains.
“We celebrate circularity and invite our community to do the same.
“There will be one golden ticket hidden in each participating shop on each day. Whoever finds it can exchange it at the till for their favourite item.”
The brand currently has 17 UK stores, including two outlets. While Coley says it plans to keep growing, she assures it is “not chasing a store-count target for the sake of it”.
“We look for places where we can already see a strong Lucy & Yak community, where the local retail environment suits us and where the shop can work commercially for the long term,” she says.
“We also want our shops to do more than sell clothes. Manchester shows that direction clearly, with PreLoved, Re:Yak and room for workshops and community activity all becoming a bigger part of the experience.”
Looking at where Lucy & Yak is planning to launch its next stores, Coley says it is currently looking at Leeds, Oxford, Birmingham and Glasgow, with “Leeds first in our working sequence”.
“These are working plans rather than opening announcements, because property timings can always move,” she notes.
“What connects them is that we can already see a real fit with the Lucy & Yak community.
“Leeds has a large student population and a strong independent scene. Birmingham is an important gap for us and opens up a much bigger regional audience.
“Oxford has a healthy independent retail culture, and Glasgow feels culturally aligned with us while complementing the community we already have in Edinburgh.
“We will confirm each opening once the location and timetable are properly locked.”
Read by Store Directors, Head of Retail, and Operations Managers across UK retail.
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