London’s Future: The Global Stage for Flagship Retail

What’s becoming important for flagships
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Flagship store trends

The metrics that have historically defined retail, including rents, footfall, and sales density, no longer capture the full picture. The questions brands now ask of a flagship location are about influence, visibility, experience, and global reach. The shift can be summarised simply:

How flagship stores are shifting, from the traditional model to the new one
  • From: Transactional space to Experiential destination
  • From: Sales-focused to Brand-focused
  • From: High store count to Selective, deliberate network
  • From: Standard fit-outs to Immersive design
  • From: Local catchment to Global audience
  • From: Inventory-led to Content-led

This is also why location has never mattered more. When a brand adds cafés, exhibitions, event space, hospitality, wellness, customisation, and immersive design to a store, it is making a deliberate signal – that this place is where it wants to be seen. A selective global network means each flagship carries more strategic weight, and the location within that city becomes a statement of brand intent.

The next section highlights trends in practice across the 15 global cities included in this report.

Food and Beverage breaker

Food & beverage

F&B concepts within flagships increase dwell time and offer exclusive brand experiences. The experience can be easily shared on social media and builds emotional connection. This is particularly prominent in luxury.

  • Ralph Lauren has rolled out Ralph’s coffee.
  • Louis Vuitton’s Milano Montenapoleone flagship reopened in 2025 after three years of restoration work and includes the Da Vittoria Café and restaurant DaV offering Italian cuisine intertwined with brand heritage. Palazzo Fendi opened opposite and is home to three restaurants.
  • Zara has also rolled out Zacaffés globally after the initial launch in Madrid, with each site reflecting the city’s own style and culture.
Events and exclusivity

Events & exclusivity

Hosting events and exclusive experiences such as limited product launches shifts the store to function as a venue and increases brand awareness, with these experiences easily shared on social media.

  • Nespresso’s stores host activations and events, such as its Sydney flagship, home to 90s-style arcade games, weekly prizes, and live DJ sets.
  • Pop Mart offers exclusive regional Labubu designs and regular limited drops.
  • On’s flagship store in Tokyo recently showcased an experiential activation of its LightSpray™ technology.
Digital

Digital

Technology is central to flagship stores to ensure the seamless experience and encourage discovery. Examples include digital screens in fitting rooms, virtual try-ons, QR discovery, and content creation corners.

  • Laneige Seoul features the Neo experience, where foundation is colourmatched from a range of 150 shades and produced on-site using robotic manufacturing technology.
  • On’s Regent Street flagship is centred on technology by showing product use cases and performance and large interactive digital mirror walls.
  • Gymshark’s fitting rooms feature customisable lighting and an assistant call button to request staff help.
Art

Art

In-store galleries, innovative interior design, artist collaborations, and site-specific commissions build community, showcase culture and craftsmanship, and create a truly immersive experience. Like F&B, this is acute in luxury.

  • Louis Vuitton’s Visionary Journeys in Shanghai, home to The Louis Vuitton boat is a prime example of a major experiential project.
  • Rahul Mishra’s Mumbai boutique is cited as a museum of couture and craft with artwork displayed throughout the store.
  • Paul Smith’s Mayfair store is home to a basement gallery.
Wellness and community

Wellness & community

Central to health and wellness brand flagships is offering spaces, services, and community events in line with the brand’s products to ensure the store is a lifestyle destination.

  • lululemon and Hoka host complimentary wellness events and run clubs.
  • Kith Ivy is a private members’ wellness and padel club in NYC.
  • Rapha’s Clubhouse in London serves as a community hub for cyclists.
  • Rituals is rolling out its Mind Oasis concept, following success at the Amsterdam flagship.
  • Alo Yoga has treatment rooms and gyms, for example Alo Sanctuary at its Seoul flagship.
Personalisation

Personalisation

Customisation in-store such as monogramming, bespoke configuration, and made-to-order shifts the store from a place to buy to a place to make.

  • Uniqlo offers store embroidery customisation across several stores as part of the RE.UNIQLO Studio services.
  • Kave Home’s store in Paris offers bespoke consultations with in-store interior design experts advising on personalised home layouts.
  • Guess Jeans Los Angeles houses a dedicated workshop and customisation lab.
  • Rolls-Royce’s Mayfair site features a bespoke commissioning suite where consumers can customise their vehicles.
Circularity

Circularity

Circular services such as repairs, resales, rentals, and alterations extend the brand relationship post-purchase and respond to increased consumer demand for sustainability.

  • Arc’teryx runs its ReBIRD™ platform in key flagship hubs, which is built around five key service areas addressing a different stage in the gear lifecycle: wash, repair, trade-in, resale, and upcycle.
  • Primark has expanded its free ‘Love it For Longer’ workshops, informing shoppers about repair techniques in several markets.
  • Levi’s offers in-store tailoring and customisation services in select flagship locations.
Architecture

Architecture

Retailers convey brand story through façade, materials, and spatial design, and flagship buildings have become campaigns. This is why brands often want highly adaptable buildings where they can modify exteriors.

  • Cult Gaia’s Miami Design District flagship is covered in a hand-painted tile mural which was modelled on local casitas.
  • Apple’s flagships are characterised by structural glass, natural materials and historical integration. Apple’s Marina Bay Sands store in Singapore, designed by Foster + Partners is set in a 30-metre diameter glass dome surrounded by water.

What are the practical considerations?

Including experiential features means more consideration around store format and configuration, consumer flow and operational capacity, and the required digital infrastructure. Retailers are seeking larger stores with high floor-to-ceiling heights to accommodate experiential features. Additionally, on-site services may be in a basement or adjacent space; however, they may also be carried out on the shop floor, which takes square footage directly from the sales floor. Product launches and hosting events can also create sharp peaks in footfall, so extended hours, queue management, and additional security are considerations. Experiential stores also have higher power and cooling demands; therefore, the associated plant space with access to fresh air should be considered by developers.

The UK’s largest Warner Bros Harry Potter shop opens on Oxford Street later this year at The Ribbon, where CBRE’s Asset & Development Management team acted as development managers on the building for M&G. The challenge for the team was to supply additional power above the assumed base build retail requirements and provide more space for the additional cooling plant to accommodate Warner Bros’ occupancy requirements. This is a key lesson learnt for speculative developers to ensure they can accommodate the flexible requirements of today’s experiential retailers.

Read the next chapter: Conclusion

Continue reading for the key takeaways on why London’s flagship advantage is strengthening.

Read the next chapter: Conclusion
London’s Future: The Global Stage for Flagship Retail

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Explore key insights from the report

Introduction
Flagship retail viability
Brands choosing London for flagships
Limited vacancy across global flagship destinations
What’s becoming important for flagships
Conclusion

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