Kookaï is opening a new-look store as part of its repositioning to expand in the UK.
The shop is its first standalone opening since its UK operation was bought out of administration in 2006.
Opening this week in St Christopher’s place, behind Oxford Street, the store is part of the brand’s strategy to bring it more in line with its French business.
Previously Kookaï had a concessions-weighted model but UK managing director Matthieu Dietsch, who joined the British arm in February, said it would consider opening more boutique-style stores.
Dietsch would not be drawn on numbers but said: “We will be opening new stores inside and outside London. The St Christopher’s Place store is not going to be a flagship in terms of the biggest store, but will be the way we want to show our product in its right environment.”
The shop, which opens tomorrow will mix modern design with vintage-inspired furnishings. Future openings and concession refits will reflect the new look.
Kookaï is also poised to launch a transactional website in the UK at the end of this month. Dietsch hopes to reach people that were familiar with Kookaï in its heyday and is targeting that customer now that she has grown up.
“It has taken lots of effort to adapt the customer and fill the gap of who the customer was five or six years ago,” he said.
The product is now the same as in the 140 French stores, where he said its “affordable contemporary” offer has been successful. He added that in the UK price points are slightly below those of French Connection.
In 2006 retail entrepreneur Maurice Helfgott’s Amery Capital formed a joint venture with Kookaï SA, a subsidiary of the Vivarte Group, to run Kookaï in the UK.
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