Fashion Studio Magazine: STORE OPENINGS

Press Release

Cath Kidston

Photo courtesy of Cath Kidston

LONDON, UK - London taxis covered in iconic Cath Kidston prints burst out of a giant Christmas present at Marble Arch this morning to celebrate the opening of the largest Cath Kidston store in the world at 180 Piccadilly during the brand's 20th birthday year.

Carol singers and snow machines entertained passersby as eight Cath Kidston taxis made the journey to the new 7070 sq ft store. The taxis will offer free journeys to 180 Piccadilly for the opening week from anywhere in zones 1 & 2, as Cath Kidston's gift to London this Christmas time. More than 150 people queued to get in to the store when the doors opened at 9.30am and the first 180 customers received a gift voucher of up to £180 to spend in store.

The streets around the store have been covered with clean graffiti in one of the brand's iconic floral prints combined with London pigeon footprints. Whilst Barclays Cycle Hire users will have their day’s brightened with Cath Kidston ‘London Christmas’ printed seat covers.

The store is a far cry from the small shop in Holland Park, West London where the company began in 1993. The new flagship brings the total number of UK stores to 68, taking the total number of stores globally to 143.

Photo courtesy of Cath Kidston

The £50 Day Bag is the best selling item in the UK and Europe, four are sold every five minutes. Six mugs are sold every two minutes and an ironing board cover (the brands first ever product) is sold every seven minutes.

Over 20,000 products are displayed in the new flagship store across three floors including home, accessories, fashion and kids. The home of modern vintage will play host to various new ranges and services including the Cath Kidston bespoke furniture upholstery service. For the first time customers can browse their favourite prints, historic and new and create a unique sofa or chair for their home.

The new store will play home to the exclusive Piccadilly Print range. Capturing the bright lights of the big city and new home of the brand the hand-drawn Piccadilly Print range pays homage to the Big Smoke’s icons - including double decker buses, black taxis and pigeons of London.

One in five women UK women own a piece of Cath Kidston*, and one in seven will receive a present from Cath Kidston* this Christmas time, making it the UK’s most popular destination for Christmas gifting. A Christmas House has been created in the flagship store to showcase the brand’s festive offering, over 860 Christmas gift ideas will be displayed.

Photo courtesy of Cath Kidston

Cath Kidston, founder and Creative Director said: "Twenty years ago, when it first began, in a small shop in Holland Park, I never imagined that we would have over 100 stores across the UK, Europe and Asia. We are so excited about the London flagship launch and delighted that we have found this perfect landmark site in Piccadilly. It fits our brand perfectly."

Kenny Wilson, Chief Executive at Cath Kidston Limited said: “The launch of our London flagship is an exciting step in our strategy for growth in the UK and abroad. Being able to open our biggest ever store in our 20th year marks a very significant and celebratory time for the Cath Kidston brand.”

“London is the right location for our flagship as it is where the brand originates from, where our headquarters is based, and is a central hub for both our UK and international customers. We chose Piccadilly as the best location for our flagship because it is a destination and the perfect place to showcase our brand to the world. We are taking everything we know our customers already love about Cath Kidston stores and building that into a new retail concept that will brighten up our customer’s day and complement our brand.”

During the festive period the store will be filled with fun customer activity from Christmas carolers to hot chestnuts and perfect present wrapping. NB. If you are ‘lucky’ enough to get pooped on by a pigeon the 180 Piccadilly store team will brighten up your day with a brand new t-shirt!

Photo courtesy of Cath Kidston

ABOUT

Cath Kidston Limited, the home of modern vintage, was founded in 1993 when designer Cath Kidston opened a single shop in London’s Holland Park. The company now offers a full range of lifestyle products across homeware, accessories, women’s and children’s fashion.

Cath Kidston Limited began to expand into international markets in 2006 with the first Japanese store opening in Tokyo. Today there are 68 Cath Kidston stores and concessions in the UK and Ireland, with an additional 75 across Spain, France, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Indonesia.

The company is majority-owned by private equity firm TA Associates and led by an experienced senior management team, including Kenny Wilson (Chief Executive), Neil Harrington (Chief Financial Officer), Chris McKendrick (Commercial Director), Geert Peeters (Global Product Development and Supply Chain Director) and Sue Chidler (Marketing Director). Cath Kidston remains at the centre of the company as Creative Director.

Cath Kidston Limited employs approx. 1200 people worldwide. It announced group sales for the 12 months ending 1 April 2013 of £105 million, a 19% increase on the previous year. Worldwide network sales (including wholesale sales to retail partners and their estimated sales) rose 24% to £129 million for the same period.

* Pragma research, August 2013

Opening Event