Yesterday (2 May), Mango announced its plans to open 20 UK stores in 2024 including four stores in London, as well as branches in Glasgow and Edinburgh. The Spanish fashion retailer will also make its debut in several cities in Northern Ireland and central and southern England.

It has opened stores in Sheffield, Plymouth and Windsor so far this year, followed by a new site in Norwich’s Chantry Place next week and another store in Glasgow’s Silverburn this summer.

As of 31 December 2023, Mango had 60 stores in the UK with 39 being own stores and 21 franchises. It also has 16 shop-in-shops including nine at John Lewis, four at House of Fraser and three at Fenwick.

Drapers caught up with Alexandra Jeanneau, international retail director of Mango, about why it is expanding its global presence and where it is opening stores in the UK.

There has been an accelerated opening of new stores in the UK in the past few years, what is Mango’s store strategy?

For us, physical stores are an essential channel. We now have more than 2,700 points of sale in more than 115 markets around the world.

Last March at Mango, we unveiled the 2024-26 Strategic Plan. Expanding is one of its main pillars plan and the company will continue to focus on the growth of its stores, opening more than 500 stores by 2026, principally in the firm’s eight strategic markets. The UK is one of these markets. [Other strategic markets are Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, India, North America].

In the UK, we have grown a lot in the past five years in terms of numbers of points of sale. At the end of 2020, we had 35 points of sale in total when combining own stores and franchises and [shop-in-shops]. At the end of 2023, we had 60 points of sale and this year we plan over 20 new openings, so we will continue to open new stores [in the UK].

About the 20 new UK openings this year, what types of locations are you targeting?

Our focus will be on expanding our presence in key locations across the country, combining the most relevant streets and shopping centers. Specifically, we plan to intensify our footprint in London and Scotland, while also venturing into new locations such as Northern Ireland, as well as central and southern England.

Our relevant penetration in the online channel in the United Kingdom (where we are present since 2000) has allowed us to have data on the location, tastes and preferences of our customers, information that is key when it comes to knowing which areas are most opportune to open stores and to be close to the customers that value fashion and our brand.

Since Mango became present in the UK in 1999, how do you think the UK market has changed?

The retail industry has also changed a lot in the UK. When we started operating in the country, 25 years ago, there were many players. After the pandemic and due to more demanding consumers, we have seen some other players that are struggling right now, and therefore we are currently experiencing a different scenario, with lesser players, but very good and well-prepared ones.