Arket Lands at Selfridges Oxford Street With a Debut Shop-in-shop
LONDON — Arket, part of the H&M Group, is branching out and opening its first shop-in-shop, at Selfridges Oxford Street. The concession, which opens on Nov. 24, will stock a selection of womenswear and lifestyle merchandise.
The opening extends the brand’s footprint in the U.K., where Arket has four stand-alone stores.
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The shop-in-shop is located on the third floor and spans 893 square feet. It will be cast in the brand’s signature monochrome palette of soft grays and feature custom-made tables and objects made from the same terrazzo stone that features in the stores.
The lounge area will also include restored pieces from a collaboration with Artek 2nd Cycle, the platform for pre-loved Artek lighting, furniture and other everyday objects from the Finnish heritage brand.
“Since the launch of Arket in London in 2017, the city holds a very special place in our hearts. We look forward to inviting our local customers to a new Arket experience,” said Pernilla Wohlfahrt, the brand’s managing director.
The brand also has a new head of design and creative, Ella Soccorsi, who joined in May. In an interview, Soccorsi said the brand was eager to introduce the new shop-in-shop format, and to showcase its aesthetic and ethos.
Arket’s style is rooted in the Nordic modernist movement of the 20th century, which bridged the worlds of arts, crafts and functional form to produce affordable and accessible items for everyday use.
“The store space is becoming more of an experience space, and we really want customers to feel at ease and spend time once they come in. Also, we think Selfridges is really a great place for us to meet our existing customer, and to meet new customers as well.”
Soccorsi said the new Selfridges space is meant to be “an introduction to Arket,” and will offer basics, such as T-shirts and cashmere sweaters, and also statement outerwear. Homeware will include products such as blankets and ceramics.
Soccorsi, who was formerly a creative leader for the H&M designer collections such as Studio and Innovation, said she was eager to join Arket because she loves “the potential in it being a lifestyle destination for everybody, the whole family.”
She added: “It has this Nordic sensibility. It’s very calm and orderly in the way that the products are [merchandised] and laid out for the customer. And I love the marketplace contrast to that, where we carry brands that complement our own, brands that can have a completely different style.”
The Selfridges opening is part of a wider expansion plan. The brand has 28 stores across Europe, China and South Korea, with Selfridges set to be the 29th store and fifth physical destination in the U.K.
Later this year, Arket will take that number up to 31 with plans to open its first units in Zurich, Switzerland, and Riga, Latvia. Next year, the brand will break into the Spanish and Italian markets with stores in Barcelona and Milan.
Stores in Suwon, South Korea and Hangzhou China are also set to open in January.
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