Barry’s to Open at Flannels’ New Liverpool Flagship, a First for Both
LONDON — Raising the bar on experiential retail, British retailer Flannels is making space for a Barry’s fitness studio inside its new Liverpool store, a first for both companies.
The Barry’s studio will offer classes, protein shakes and a place to test drive clothing and equipment from brands including Lululemon Athletica. The two companies also plan to host joint events for their overlapping customer base, while Flannels will be treating its own staff to Barry’s classes.
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Liverpool will be Flannels’ largest store to date, spanning 120,000 square feet. Barry’s will be 7,000 square feet, and will sit in the “World of Active” conceptual space. The store is due to open early this summer.
The new Flannels will be located at 15 Parker Street in the “Owen Owen” building, which once housed the headquarters of the eponymous, and now shuttered, department store chain.
Set over seven floors, the Liverpool Flannels will also house a new-concept beauty destination, and a rooftop restaurant, in addition to the activewear floor where Barry’s will be located.
Michael Murray, incoming chief executive officer of Flannels’ owner, Frasers Group, said he believes the tie-up will appeal to an underserved audience of “luxury consumers and fitness fanatics” who will now be able to shop for fashion, and do their HIIT workouts, all in one place.
He’s also a regular Barry’s customer, one reason why he was keen to partner with the brand.
In an interview, Murray said the two companies have a similar vision, with Flannels speaking to a “a new luxury consumer” in different regions of England, and Barry’s bringing an “elevated” gym experience to a similar demographic.
“Why not partner?” Murray said.
“We’ve got the space, and we’re launching sportswear and activewear. We know that the new, luxury consumer wants to a have an elevated, and innovative shopping experience. And they also want the same experience for their fitness routine. They want to go somewhere different, somewhere progressive. And, currently, that offer doesn’t exist in Liverpool. We’ll be the first, and only, multicategory destination to mark the city.”
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Murray believes there is much pent-up demand in the city, which he described as a “powerhouse of culture and style,” noting it was the fifth largest retail center in the country.
Liverpool, like Manchester, has a thriving middle class (in addition to a strata of super-rich professional footballers and their families), and a glamorous customer base that’s hungry for makeup, hair care and fashion.
Indeed, Liverpool was also the destination that Harvey Nichols chose for its Beauty Bazaar stand-alone concept store, which it opened in 2021, while Harrods has been rolling out stand-alone H Beauty stores across the U.K. in a bid to appeal to a demographic with disposable income that’s hungry for makeup, cosmetics, skin care and treatments.
The Flannels Liverpool studio will be Barry’s ninth in the U.K., and its second outside London, according to Sandy Macaskill, cofounder, Barry’s U.K. The brand already has a studio in Manchester, which Macaskill said has been successful, despite the challenges of the pandemic.
The collaboration with Flannels, he added, will open a world of opportunity. “I like learning from industries outside fitness. Look at fashion. There are so many big brands, major brands doing collaborations. There are no barriers anymore.”
The studio will feature the Barry’s trademark mix of red lights, mirrors, “nightclub spec sound system” and high-tech Woodway treadmills alongside equipment including dumbbells, and benches.
The new studio will have high-end changing facilities, including complimentary towel service and luxury beauty and grooming products. A Barry’s Fuel Bar will offer a menu of post-workout shakes by the brand Hermosa.
Murray said there is a big opportunity to cross-market both brands.
“We see it as a huge, huge benefit to engage with our customers through a fitness lens — not just a retailing one. We see great synergies, and we think it’s going to be important in the future that (retailers) bring differentiated experiences into stores to make the high street relevant,” he said.
Flannels has 40 stores open across the U.K., including a flagship on London’s Oxford Street, and carries brands including Off-White, Burberry, Creed and Gucci.
The Liverpool store is part of a wider rollout of Flannels units that’s being spearheaded by Murray. There will also be openings in Sheffield and Leicester, with a total of 15 destinations set to launch in the next five years.
The stores will have more than 30,000 square feet of trading space, and will offer beauty halls, luxury and contemporary ready-to-wear concepts, active destinations and restaurants.
In an interview with WWD last year, Murray said the beauty halls will offer established labels like Chanel and Dior next to specialty brands and digital names like Patrick Ta — but also offer a new, more modern physical store experience.
Flannels’ beauty specialists will be selling across all the different brands on offer, helping customers pick what’s best for them instead of sitting behind individual brands’ counters.
There will also be a beauty bar on the shop floor, where customers can take a seat, sip a glass of Champagne and try the products on the bar’s ever-changing menu. The idea is to make the experience more “interactive” and create opportunities for brand takeovers, parties, beauty tutorials and more.
Local beauty therapists will also be able to use the beauty bar as their version of a “hot desk” and start treating clients from the Flannels shop floor.
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