Hema opens first shop-in-shop at Next in London

By

Shomara Roosblad

Published
Sep 12, 2018

The Netherlands’ Hema has opened a shop-in-shop at the Oxford Street branch of British retailer Next. The shop marks the Dutch retailer’s first ever shop-in-shop and is the ninth Hema point of sale in the United Kingdom.

Hema’s shop-in-shop is located on the first floor of the 73,000-square-metre Next flagship store. Its range consists of the categories of personal care, gifts, food and products for children.

Hema said that the opening of the shop-in-shop is another important step for its continued expansion in the United Kingdom, where it first landed in 2014. Depending on the shop-in-shop’s success, Hema may open at more Next branches.

Richard Flint, Director of Hema International, said in a press release: “HEMA is  developing more and more into a truly internationally operational retailer and lifestyle brand. We are seeing increasing demand for our concept because of the distinctive character of our brand in these markets. Our products have a 'Dutch design', are competitively priced and are good quality. This makes us attractive to additional markets. We are therefore looking for partnerships and trying out innovative concepts, such as with Next but also with Apparel Group for the Middle East. Our Dutch origin is helpful for this because 'Dutch design' is well-regarded abroad. We will therefore continue to emphasize this in our marketing, for example by using the phrase  ‘from Amsterdam’ in our logo and stores.”

Next is strategically located between the tube stations Tottenham Court Road and the upcoming Queen Elizabeth Line. Oxford Street reports a footfall of 200 million per year. Furthermore, the shop-in-shop is a 7-minute walk from the Hema flagship store on Tottenham Court Road, which opened in November 2017.

Hema launched in 1926 in the city of Amsterdam. In 1984 the retailer unveiled its first international branch in Belgium, followed by Germany, France and Luxembourg two decades later. In 2014, the retailer announced expansion to the UK and Spain. In 2018, Hema opened its first store in Austria and expanded outside of Europe with a store in Dubai.

Today, the retailer offers 30,000 of its own products and services, including apparel, beauty and home products. Hema operates more than 750 stores in 9 countries, 2 continents and employs more than 19,000 people.

Next has about 500 stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland and another 200 stores in 40 countries worldwide, including Qatar, Norway, Greece, Russia, Japan, Morocco and New Zealand.