Major UK chain returning to high street - a year since all stores closed

Cath Kidston is set to RETURN to the high street a year after all stores disappeared and will open its first new store next month, The Sun newspaper has reported.

An iconic UK shop will return to the high street - a year after ALL stores vanished. Cath Kidston is set to RETURN to the high street a year after all stores disappeared and will open its first new store next month, The Sun newspaper has reported.

A new Cath Kidston shop will open in Westfield White City, London. The retailer crashed into administration last year and the last of its bricks-and-mortar stores closed in June 2023 but now Next has acquired the Cath Kidston brand.

Cath Kidston has teased the return on Instagram and said: "Why yes. Yes, you guessed right. We do indeed we have a new home opening soon. Can anyone tell where in London we'll be opening our doors?" In response, shoppers were delighted.

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One said: "Welcome back!!" Another posted: "YES!! This is SO EXCITING!!!" A third posted: "Super excited about the new store." And a fourth said: "Omg! yay welcome back! A trip to London may be needed." It isn't clear if more stores could open in the future.

Zelf Hussain, joint administrator and partner at PwC, said: “Cath Kidston is a well-loved lifestyle brand founded in 1993 and I am pleased to say that it has been bought by Next who will make sure it continues to flower under their ownership.

“The company has over recent years navigated through incredibly challenging market conditions including the pandemic restrictions, and most recently the decline in consumer spending driven by cost of living pressures and rising costs.”

The brand’s eponymous founder, an interior designer who worked with celebrity decorator Nicky Haslam, opened her first store in London’s Notting Hill in 1993, selling decorated tea towels and bric-a-brac. She sold her stake in the business some years ago, and the brand previously called in administrators in April 2020 as part of an attempted rescue deal by Hong Kong-based Baring Private Equity Asia.