Matalan announces multimillion pound investment in UK stores

Matalan announced on Monday that it’s pumping £25 million into its UK store estate as part of a multi-year transformation programme. The investment will see it opening 10 new and relocated stores and upgrading 30 existing locations this year alone.

It said the programme will mean “improved store layouts, elevated design and upgraded in-store technology” and is the start of am ongoing “estate refresh as Matalan continues its commitment to bricks-and-mortar retail in the UK”.

The investment comes weeks after the company said it had secured £25 million of additional funding from its anchor investors.

The 10 openings/relocations will expand the retailer’s footprint in “key regions”, including London, Essex, Hampshire and also Northern Ireland.

This marks the “first phase of a long-term programme to modernise Matalan’s full estate over the next three to five years”. Looking ahead, in addition to the 10 openings, it said it aims to open that number every year, “focusing on new locations where it can bring its combination of style, quality, and value to customers for the first time”.

As for the 30 stores to be upgraded, they too are just the start of a programme that will see a similar number of revamps annually.

The company said this will involve “improving layouts and elevating store design to allow for a more seamless shopping experience, for instance by creating greater definition between key departments and relocating all services like fitting rooms and tills to a single, more accessible area”. New “customer-focused technology, including faster and easier-to-use self-service tills in larger checkout areas, will also be rolled out across the refreshed locations”.

And the commercial reasoning is clear. The company said that recently refurbished stores in Croydon, Linwood, Bristol Filton, and Dumfries “have already seen a significant increase in sales, ahead of expectations”.

James Dorling, Matalan’s Property Director, said its “storefronts have been a fixture of UK communities for 40 years, so it is only right that bricks-and-mortar retail remains at the centre of our transformation programme. This investment marks a step-change in our strategy – creating a better, more seamless shopping experience for our existing customers, while also introducing the Matalan brand to new consumers”.

Not that digital is being neglected and the retailer said that as an omnichannel business, it will also use the new funding to invest in its digital and e-commerce offer, “including the launch of a new app, which will underpin Matalan’s e-commerce channel and loyalty programme”.