British brand N Peal to open New York store

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Feb 16, 2018

UK cashmere knitwear brand N Peal is to make its retail debut in the US next week. Its first American store will open on New York’s Madison Avenue on Tuesday (February 19).

The 82 year-old Yorkshire-based brand has only six other standalone stores, all of them in central London, but it’s growing fast. Its managing director Adam Holdsworth said it’s on target for a “stellar 2018” in an environment that’s extremely positive for British luxury brands.

The company has gone through a fast expansion phase in recent years with the opening of stores in London’s Piccadilly, Mayfair and Covent Garden, as well as a US website,

“Following a successful 2017, in which sales soared to £15m, the time is right for us to launch our exciting Madison Avenue store that will in turn support online growth,” said Holdsworth, who has owned the business since 2006. “As N Peal goes from strength to strength, it’s clear that British luxury has a firm hold in the international market, a position that can only increase as heritage brands like N.Peal expand overseas.” 

The brand was founded by Nat Peal in Burlington Arcade in London in 1936 and still has its flagship store there. 

The company has benefitted in recent periods from celebrity associations such as the specially commissioned pieces it created for the James Bond movies Skyfall and Spectre in 2012 and 2015. These continued its close links with Hollywood that helped it to a cult following in the US over several decades, with the brand having previously dressed stars from James Dean to Cary Grant, Ava Gardner, Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor.