Lakeside Retail Park, Thurrock, welcomed the highly anticipated return of Laura Ashley to UK bricks-and-mortar retail in September, the brand’s new 10,000 sqft flagship store – operated in partnership with Next – promising "an immersive environment" that "signals the next phase of growth for the brand”. Furniture News asked Laura Ashley UK’s VP Poppy Marshall-Lawton for a brief of the new game plan …
Why here? Why now?
We have a strong customer demographic in Essex and the surrounding areas, making this the perfect spot for our return to retail. The site was formerly a Next Home store, and was one of their best performing, so it made sense for Laura Ashley to take over the space when Next Home relocated into the shopping centre.
From a consumer perspective, customers have told us for the past five years that they want to see Laura Ashley stores return, making it all the more significant. The opening also coincides with what would have been our founder Laura's 100th birthday, making this a commemorative moment to honour her history and legacy.
How did the opening go?
Our first day trading was a great success and it was really exciting to see a crowd gathering outside waiting for the store to open – one lady had left home at 6am to be the first in! Within the first two hours we sold bedding, curtains and womenswear, and had large orders placed for made-to-order sofa and armchairs, rugs and other pieces.
The opening weekend saw the store become a hive of activity, with lots of loyal Laura Ashley fans who had been eagerly awaiting our return to bricks and mortar.
What does Laura Ashley have to offer the market that isn’t there already?
Laura Ashley’s aesthetic is instantly recognisable worldwide, and our brand has become synonymous with timeless design, with its signature prints and customers’ trust in the quality of our collections. We have an extensive archive that is the driving force behind many of our creative decisions, and it is these archive-inspired designs that continue to prove popular with customers, both established and new, today. Our rich heritage and understanding of the importance of home are part of what makes us such a unique brand and so popular with customers.
Can you provide a brief history of the brand’s presence in the UK market?
Since 1953 Laura Ashley has evolved into the brand now known internationally today, and the first stores opened in London in 1968. However, in 2020, when the brand was under previous management, the retail section of the business went into administration, leading to the closure of all UK stores.
Over the past five years, we have established a strong partnership with Next as our main retail partner in the UK, bringing the brand back to customers online and through Next stores. The Thurrock store is operated in partnership with Next, leveraging its advanced retail systems and stock management expertise.
Laura Ashley maintains a strong global retail presence with 60 stores outside the UK – most notably in Japan and South Korea, where the first international locations opened in Tokyo in 1985.
What role have you played personally in this latest development?
As VP for Laura Ashley UK, I worked closely with the senior management team at Next to bring this project to life. The new store marks the next phase in our long-term partnership with Next, and we set ourselves an ambitious goal to launch before the end of September – completing in under three months what typically can take up to a year.
Working as a team, we co-ordinated regular cross-team meetings to ensure every aspect of the launch was covered, and our team played a key role in perfecting the finishing touches, from ordering fresh flowers to arranging the move of one of our Laura Ashley fitted kitchens into the new store.
Read the full interview in November's issue.
