When it opened its newly revamped Paris store in 2022, Dior had significantly expanded the space and included features such as a restaurant and patisserie.
Zara and H&M shoppers may not demand fine-dining at their local outlet but fast fashion retailers can learn from their luxury peers. Fewer but bigger, well-designed stores should be one of their greatest weapons against the onslaught from online rivals such as Singapore-based Shein.
Take Zara-owner Inditex. Over the past 10 years, Inditex’s average store size has increased from about 500 square metres to 750-800, estimates RBC Capital Markets. The retailer, which also owns Pull & Bear and Massimo Dutti, is shutting smaller outlets but upgrading and expanding flagship locations. It opened its largest-ever Zara store last year in Rotterdam.