Urban Outfitters sets up in West End

American lifestyle retailer Urban Outfitters is to launch a three-storey flagship on London’s Oxford Street on Friday, ahead of a push into the European market with a raft of individually branded stores.

The interior concept, created by American consultancy Otto Design Group in collaboration with London architect Nick MacMahon, will adhere to Urban Outfitters’ ‘your first apartment’ aesthetic.

‘There are wooden floors, a skylight and galvanised metal fixtures,’ explains Urban Outfitters UK managing director Martin Parker. A ‘toned down’ version of this design will probably be implemented across Urban Outfitters’ forthcoming sites, he adds, but branding will be exclusive to individual sites.

‘Urban Outfitters is not a corporate animal. There is no corporate logo. Each store designs its [identity] individually,’ Parker explains.

Parker adds that the chain is looking to launch ‘four to five’ more stores over the next 12 months. ‘We’re close to signing in Birmingham, and we’re also looking at major city centres in Benelux and Scandinavia,’ he says.

The Oxford Street store, Urban Outfitters’ third site in the capital, will cover 14 000m2 and sell own-label and bought-in clothing, accessories and homewares ranges.

Urban Outfitters has 68 North American and European sites in its retail estate, including five in the UK and Ireland.