US clothing giant set to open 10 new stores in UK but shutting one branch

Abercrombie and Fitch, which employs around 100 people at its London head office, wants to double the 10 stores it currently has based in Britain.

A US clothing giant is set to open 10 new high street stores in the UK this year, it has confirmed. Abercrombie and Fitch, which employs around 100 people at its London head office, wants to double the 10 stores it currently has based in Britain.

It is planning to open “between eight and 10 new stores” in the UK this year, including a location on London’s Kensington High Street. The retailer is looking at both new high street and shopping centre locations for its upcoming stores, the company’s EMEA managing director Scott Clarke-Bryan told Drapers.

It has opened two new sites in the form of Oxford Street, near Bond Street station, and Long Acre, in Covent Garden, already this year. Scott said: “We will accelerate our store expansion this year.

“We want to be in the very best locations [and] we are really excited that we’ll be coming to Kensington High Street.” But it comes as Hollister announced late last month that its only store in Aberdeen, Scotland, would close this month.

A spokesperson for Abercrombie & Fitch, said: “We can confirm we will be closing our Union Square Hollister store at the end of February. We believe stores matter and we are exploring new store opportunities in the UK, including in Aberdeen, to provide a great shopping experience for our customers.”

Profit tripled at the business behind Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister in the UK during its latest financial year as its sales passed the £200m mark. The London-headquartered division has reported a pre-tax profit of £9.8m for the 12 months to 3 February, 2024.

The total comes after the firm posted a pre-tax profit of £3.2m for the prior period. The results also show that the company’s turnover increased in the year from £171.1m to £213.1m. The firm behind Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister saw its store sales increase from £87.4m to £101.4m in the year while its online turnover grew from £79.5m to £100.6m.

During the year, the average number of people employed by the business in the UK rose from 1,896 to 1,991.