Aurelius-backed Footasylum set to open flagship Oxford Street store
Rochdale-based sportswear retailer, Footasylum, is to open a new store on London’s famous Oxford Street.
The business, which was acquired by German asset management firm, Aurelius, for £37.5m last August, is taking space at 73-89 Oxford Street, as it continues to see strong demand for its branded streetwear offering.
The new 20,000 sq ft store will open in the second half of this year and will trade across two floors, with additional customer service and click-and-collect lockers located in the store’s basement.
Located in the heart of the West End, Oxford Street is one of London’s busiest streets and Europe’s most popular shopping destinations.
It is made up of more than 300 stores, including some of the world’s most famous fashion brands, and provides an unrivalled shopping experience. Each year it attracts around 200 million shoppers and each day half a million people from all over the world visit its shops.
The new flagship store will be the latest in a line of Footasylum site openings, as the company continues its ambitious expansion programme.
Footasylum recently announced plans to open a 6,000 sq ft store in the atria Watford shopping centre, and to undertake store expansions in Westfield Stratford City – which has now been completed – and Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex.
It also opened a store in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, in December 2022, which was its first new opening since April 2021 and its first under the ownership of Aurelius Group.
Barry Bown, executive chairman and CEO of Footasylum, said: “Oxford Street is Europe’s busiest and best known shopping street and, with Footasylum performing well, we’re hugely excited to have a flagship store at the heart of such an iconic retail destination.
“Our aim is for our unique and extensive branded streetwear offering to be widely available across the UK, and having bigger and better stores is a key part of that ambition.
“The new store will offer Oxford Street visitors an incredible shopping experience and take the Footasylum brand to the next level. We can’t wait to open our doors later this year.”
Footasylum was sold to Aurelius for £37.5m last year by Bury-based sportswear retailer JD Sports Fashion after a ruling by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) which claimed JD’s £90m acquisition of Footasylum in March, 2019, could heavily reduce competition.
