Antoine & Lili open first UK boutique in Kent

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Sep 21, 2017

French fashion brand Antoine & Lili has opened its first UK store less than a year after being bought by investment specialist Dzeta Group and Judith Benhamou.

The brand, which was founded by Martine Senac and Alexandre Gattegno 23 years ago, has opened in Canterbury in Kent not far from the world famous catherdral.

Benhamou, whose CV includes stints at Chloé, Toutcomptefait and Rousseau, wants to expand the women’s and kidswear brand from its current €7 million turnover while retaining the brand’s heritage. Earlier this year the company said that while it has seen fairly stable revenue in recent years, it is targeting fast growth and has a medium-term goal of tripling its turnover.

Benhamou is focusing on growing the product offer and also wants to add to the store count both in its domestic market and across Europe generally.

The new 120 sq m Canterbury store benefits from the massive tourist footfall in the city with visitors coming not only from the UK but all over the world. Recent footfall and sales reports for UK retail have shown that tourist towns have been among the winners in an otherwise-sluggish fashion retail market. And with Canterbury’s relatively affluent local consumers, it seems a strong starting point for the brand’s British ambitions. The complete ready-to-wear offer is available at the location.

The brand, which has 15 stores in France, as well as two franchised stores in Geneva and Lausanne, also said it wants to accelerate its online growth with web sales currently representing only 3% of total turnover. This offers plenty of growth potential with a target of e-sales making up 15% to 20% of the total within the next few years.