Founded in 1992 as a small concession department in a ladies store, before opening its first store on London’s Kings Road in 1993, today Dune is the leading retailer of affordable luxury footwear and accessories. The company currently has more than 250 outlets across the world and has recently opened stores in Manchester Airport and Basle, Switzerland.
Chief amongst these new openings is Dune Stansted, which opened at the newly transformed £80 million Stansted Airport International Lounge. The new store is Dune’s fourth travel retail store, adding to the brand’s growing position within the travel-retail sector.
Speaking to Premier Retail about Dune Stansted, Dune Store Development Manager, Scott Fitzgerald, said:
“Extending our travel-retail portfolio is important for us and moving forward we are looking to drive the travel-retail business even further. We’ve currently got stores in Gatwick North, as well as St Pancras Station and Manchester Airport, so Stansted adds to this offering and becomes another key location for us.
“For example, if customers fly from Stansted Airport and arrive in Basle, they will see a Dune store when they leave London and will then see another Dune store on the Basle high street. Having these stores positioned where they are, really gives us a strong brand presence.”
Dune Stansted covers an area of 1,167 sq ft and boasts an extensive range of products, with a specific focus on travel items.
As with all new Dune stores, Dune Stansted includes a distinctive catwalk concept which runs throughout the store, complete with display shoes which are attached to the ceiling. Video walls showcase seasonal graphics, while illuminated light boxes and designated accessory areas add to the aesthetics of the store.
A key feature of the store is its large frontage, which really adds a sense of space to the sales area.
Scott commented:
“Something which works really well for our stores is our shop front and wherever possible we aim for a large open shop front to encourage customers to come into the store to see our full range of products.”
Scott added:
“The shop fitters on the project were Garenne. They have a lot of airport experience and they really did a great job on the finishes.”
Since Dune Stansted opened its doors the feedback has been extremely positive, with Manchester Airports Group – owners of Stansted and Manchester Airport – showing their support.
Scott said:
“Manchester Airports Group already had a good idea about what we could offer them when we opened our store at Manchester Airport, but this store at Stansted really confirmed that – and sales have been very strong.”
Moving forward, Dune has plans in the pipeline to continue opening new stores in key locations, including a third store in New York at the Westfield World Trade Centre mall, as well as new stores in Zurich and Bern, Switzerland. In addition, Dune is currently updating its existing portfolio of stores, to introduce the new catwalk concept across the brand.
Scott said:
“We’re looking at other locations and we will also be working with our concessions partners to conduct a few updates to provide our customers with a consistent brand image. 2016 it will be another busy year for Dune.”
For further information about Dune, or to check out Dune’s extensive range of products, please visit: www.dunelondon.com.
