Scotch & Soda is continuing its expansion frenzy into 2022. The Dutch denim and lifestyle brand announced it’s planning to open 20 brick-and-mortar stores around the world in just six months’ time.
Stores include flagship locations in Milan’s Via Alessandro and London’s Long Acre—among the most popular fashion destinations in both cities, as well as additional sites in North America, Europe, China, the Middle East and Asia.
Earlier this year, Scotch & Soda opened a new store in Boston and Scottsdale, Ariz., and will soon introduce locations in Washington, D.C., Detroit and San Antonio, Texas. By the end of September, it aims to open its 50th location in North America.
In Europe, it opened a new store in France, and will open three more in the region before the end of September, when the country’s store count will grow to 31. This year will also see three new stores in Germany, bringing its total to 42 by the end of September. It will also open a location in Sweden in June.
This year, the brand has opened stores in Israel, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, and will open more in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, South Africa and Egypt by the end of the summer.
Scotch & Soda is also expanding its presence in China, where it launched operations in July. In October, it opened its first official digital store on Tmall, the Alibaba-owned platform where 700 million consumers shop each year. It also recently joined popular Chinese social media platforms including Weibo, Little Red Book, WeChat and Douyin. This year, Scotch & Soda will open stores in Beijing and Shanghai, bringing its store count in China to five.
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The brand’s newly launched “free spirit” design concept will appear in Amsterdam, Paris, Lyon, Madrid, Barcelona and Luxembourg City. Introduced last year, the concept includes warm colors, sleek design elements and sustainable features like LED lighting, FSC-certified wood herringbone flooring and hangers made of recycled materials. The design pays homage to the brand’s Amsterdam roots, where self-expression is key. The stores also showcase new branding blending Scotch & Soda’s initials and ampersand, and nod to the craftsmanship that goes into each collection by “following the delicate movement of a thread attached to the eye of the needle.”
“The growth momentum we saw last year continues to strengthen, with more locations launching globally,” said Frederick Lukoff, Scotch & Soda CEO. “We are looking forward to the opening of our flagship stores in Milan and London, in two of the world’s most attractive fashion retail destinations. It is a great opportunity to reach new customers worldwide, and to introduce them to our brand, inspired by the free spirit of Amsterdam.”
Last year, the brand set out on a mission to bring its physical presence to 249 stores and 280 shop-in-shops before 2022. It also partnered with retail tech company Nedap to equip its stores with tech provider’s !D Cloud inventory management platform.
Increasing brick-and-mortar locations was a popular strategy for retailers in 2021. Retail intelligence firm Coresight Research reported that retailers opened more stores than they closed last year. Highlights include H&M, which opened 100; Gap Inc., which opened 70; American Eagle Outfitters, which opened 50; and Express, which opened 15.