De Fursac launches at Selfridges

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Dec 10, 2019

The De Fursac menswear brand newly owned by SMCP has opened its first retail space in London with a debut at Selfridges. The space is a pop-up and opened on Monday. It will stay open through the festive period and into February next year.

The move shows group chief Daniel Lalonde putting his money where his mouth is after saying when SMCP bought the brand that it was ready to grow abroad.

It’s a big step for the 46-year-old brand which, apart from a limited presence in Switzerland, is focused largely on the French market with more than 50 outlets.  

The company is expected to open more new spaces elsewhere in Europe and also in Asia, replicating a business model that has proved successful for SMCP’s other brands such as Maje and Sandro.

And of course, China is a likely target, which is why the choice of Selfridges for its first pop-up is so important. Although Chinese shopping tourist numbers arriving in the UK have fallen this year, they remain high. And Selfridges is one of their key destinations as London’s West End remains a magnet for affluent Chinese consumers.

Opening in Selfridges not only exposes De Fursac to those shoppers, but also to the many Americans, Russians and Middle Eastern consumers who have the store as a must-see on their travel itineraries. 

And, of course there’s the fashion forward UK shopper to also take into account. Fashion retail may be in a weak state in the UK at present, but central London remains buoyant.