Missguided is the latest fashion e-tailer coming to a physical store near you
Online fashion store Missguided is set to continue its expansion plan into bricks-and-mortar stores with its first foray onto the UK high street via Selfridges.
The British brand will debut some of its pieces in one of the upmarket departments stores next month, gradually creating a presence in three stores, Women's Wear Daily (WWD) reports. The move follows the label's recent launch in a handful of select US department stores Nordstrom.
Founder and managing director told WWD that Missguided-branded stores could also be part of the brand's future, solidifying its presence on the high street. "As an online brand, it's hard for our customers to touch and trust our product," Passi told the publication.
Missguided is the latest in a chain of e-tailers dipping their toes into the analogue world. Late last year one of the label's biggest rivals Boohoo.com opened a pop-up store in New York for two weeks, allowing shoppers the chance to browse a selection of the site's vast collection in person. The move, which came one year after the company launched its US version of the site, was part of a brand awareness drive in North America.
Meanwhile online crafts haven Etsy.com has also been testing out the approach. Last year the site set up shop in London's Covent Garden, bringing its popular blend of quirky vintage and handmade items to the streets of the UK for the first time via a pre-Christmas pop-up. The Australian branch followed suit with a series of weekly pop-ups in Sydney fusing food and crafts. The brand first tested the pop-up concept in 2012 in New York.
Online shopping has undoubtedly changed the retail landscape, but as Missguided proves, the appetite for fast fashion has not completely displaced customer engagement with bricks-and-mortar brands.
