Three footwear brands make it hot-foot to Trafford Centre

The Trafford Centre has revealed details of three new footwear brands and a store re-fit, which are set to further strengthen its fashion offering after the opening of non-essential retail in April.

Carvela, Havaianas and Happy Socks are set to join its retailer line up this summer season.

The Carvela store launch will be the brand’s first foray into the North West, once complete in mid-June, after signing a 1,000 sq ft unit on a 10-year lease.

Carvela, owned by Kurt Geiger, will be located in the centre’s Upper Regent Crescent, and will offer a full range of design-led footwear and accessories, with an emphasis on fashion-forward comfort.

Meanwhile Kurt Geiger, Carvela’s owner, has renewed its pre-existing lease in the centre for a further 10 years, with further investment planned by the group for a store re-fit, taking place in June this year.

The Havaianas concession follows the popular Brazilian flip-flop sandal company signing a 550 sq ft lease in the centre’s Main Dome, which opened this month.

The unit will trade as the well known sandal brand throughout the summer months before swapping to Happy Socks in the winter.

Sarah Pugh, head of Carvela, said: “This is a really exciting time for Carvela as we launch our new website, new stores and refine who and what we are as a brand.

“Empowering our community to feel fearlessly confident is our priority and it’s through a focus on inclusive design, as well as merging comfort with fashion forward footwear and accessories, that we strive to embolden every customer to embrace this feeling – we want everyone to feel their most powerful when wearing Carvela.”

Julian Thomas, director at Future D2C, overseeing the launch of the Havaianas and Happy Socks concept, said: “We are delighted to have opened our new Havaianas store in The Trafford Centre and excited to be able to trade all year round by switching to Happy Socks for the winter.

“The brands share many of the same characteristics, being fun, colourful, well priced and needing only a small space to retail from.

“Importantly, there is one obvious difference, Havaianas is all about summer, Happy Socks is all about winter.”

Zoe Inman, centre director, said: “These three well known footwear brands are a welcome addition to The Trafford Centre’s fashion offering, which will contribute further to its prestige as one of the most popular and desirable places for fashion retail in the North.

“Throughout the pandemic, The Trafford Centre has continued to offer an array of exciting retailers and eateries to visitors.

“These new launches – as well as others such as Gym+Coffee and Rituals – really illustrate the pent-up demand people have had for an enjoyable day out shopping – something that shopping online really can’t compete with.”

She added: “It’s been wonderful to welcome visitors back to The Trafford Centre, and with the further easing of restrictions, we can’t wait to welcome more people back for that full day out experience.”