Uniqlo’s latest London store has opened its doors with a debut in a large space at Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross.

It’s offering the brand’s LifeWear for women and men, among other products, in a retail space of around 800 sq m across three floors and comes a few weeks ahead of the 10 October reopening of the Uniqlo store in Westfield White City after its renovation.

Clearly the London market is hugely important to the brand given its investment in two such prominent locations and both will benefit from exposure to the mix of locals, commuters and tourists that characterised London shopping pre-pandemic and is almost back to normal several years later.

So what do we get with the new King’s Cross store? It’s housed in a building that was originally a Victorian coal drops shed linked to the railway station and later in the 1980s became the centre of the London rave scene. 

Now transformed into a shopping hub, the Uniqlo store features all the regular ranges from the label and on its second floor has the Re.Uniqlo studio where customers can recycle, repair or remake items from the brand.

Collaborating with nearby Central Saint Martins for the second time, Uniqlo has also tasked two BA Fashion graduates with designing an Eki Stamp (a free, collectible, rubber ink stamp found at many railway stations in Japan), inspired by Coal Drops Yard.

Customers can add the winning Eki Stamp design to their items for a limited time only in an exclusive to the Coal Drops Yard Re.Uniqlo counter.

The company has also partnered with London Mural Festival 2024 and collaborated with Pref, a British artist “who took inspiration from the brand’s Made For All philosophy to create an artwork in his classic typography style”. It’s displayed on a mural within the store as well as on the specially made ping pong tables located on the second floor terrace.

There’s also more that plays on Coal Drops Yard’s link to one of London’s main railway terminus stations. For instance, the brand will be working with East Japan Railway Company (JR-East) , which offers a variety of products through advanced vending machines in Japan. At the Coal Drops Yard store customers will be able to shop selected items of kidswear from the vending machine on the second floor.