Dutch babywear retailer Lief! is planning to make its UK debut.
The brand trades in three countries at present and the UK launch forms part of major international expansion plans. It is looking for British retail franchise partners to open stores under the Lief! brand.
A spokeswoman for the retailer said that it plans to open a pilot store first, followed by about eight to 10 shops within two years.
The shops will be the same size as its existing store average – about 1,600 sq ft (150 sq m). It will continue to use its master franchise format, which it operates abroad, whereby it has one partner to operate multiple stores in
that country.
Lief! has 10 stores in the Netherlands and one store each in Belgium and Saudi Arabia.
Within three years it wants to have a portfolio of about 40 stores in the Netherlands, 25 in Belgium and Luxembourg, 15 for the rest of Europe and 15 in the Middle East. It will open its first store in Dubai in spring next year.
Lief! started out as a single-store retailer in the Dutch village of Giessenburg in 2005, launching its franchising programme across the Netherlands a year later.
The range started off as t-shirts bearing the Lief! logo and has now been extended to include a wider range of babywear, including toys, bedclothes and furniture.
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