retail concepts

Shop the post: Indie gifts for Mother’s Day



Pott Lac candles and ceramic holder

Two recent discoveries on my radar for Mother’s Day* – or any other gifting occasion…

POTT CANDLES. Pott (above) is a candle subscription service offering handmade ceramic pots with refillable hand-poured scented candles. Choose your pot, then select your fragrance from a choice of ten (or an unscented one if you prefer) to get a new candle refill every month. The pots start at £30 (for the Petite size) and the subscription refills start at £10 a month (for the Petite).

If your giftee isn’t into subscription services (but who wouldn’t love this?!), Pott also sells individual candle pots. (more…)



Highsnobiety just opened its concept store – in an airport



Highsnobiety Gatezero Zurich Airport store

Last week saw Highsnobiety open its concept store, Gatezero’ at Zurich airport. For six months, the bricks-and-mortar location will sell a hypebeast-friendly selection of products and exclusive releases from over 20 brands. Think Acne Studios and Gucci RTW and accessories, Comme wallets and Ambush jewellery. Plus travel essentials like toothbrushes and night masks.

From the pictures it looks perfectly pitched for the emerging new-luxury customer for whom brands and insider status are important. So, the hype fashion brands (Bottega, Balenciaga, Loewe and Saint Laurent) are also part of the buy, as well as beauty favourites Aesop, Byredo and Barbara Sturm. Naturally, there’s also a special Gatezero merch line (also available here). (more…)



Confirmed: The Glossier London store IS returning to Covent Garden – permanently



…But not in the same place.

News just in! The Glossier London store is returning to Covent Garden. The most successful of the global Glossier pop-ups, the permanent London store will be opening in a new spot – just a few yards from its previous location in Floral Street.

Scheduled for a December opening, the new Glossier Covent Garden store will be located at the much-more-visible 43 King Street – aka the oldest building in Covent Garden (below). It’s right next door to the Apple store and alongside the Covent Garden piazza, thus much better for footfall. [UPDATE: It will open on Thursday 9th December at 10am.]

Glossier London King Street

Covent Garden has long been considered London’s ‘beauty quarter’, with Chanel, Dior and Charlotte Tilbury boutiques all contributing to the buzz of this retail destination. As I mentioned last week, the big tourist cities are slowly opening up post-Covid, so we should expect to see plenty more exciting retail activity in the world’s city centres.

(This post has been updated.)

WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: Glossier; exterior of 43 King Street/Emily Weiss
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here

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Stroll on – could city revamps be the passport to retail rebound?



It’s re-entry time! While the world’s flagship shopping cities have seen their fair share of retail casualties, they’re starting to pick themselves back up again. From London to Paris to New York and even Zürich, it’s clear the battle for tourist dollars is stronger than ever.

“La Samaritaine is like a really pleasant stroll. And when you’re strolling, there are surprises, you discover things, you feel good,” says Eleonore de Boysson, region president of Europe and Middle East at LVMH’s DFS Group. In case you blinked and missed it, La Samaritaine is LVMH’s recently reopened Paris department store, after some 16 years of renovation. Located on Rue de Rivoli and restored to its Nouveau and Deco splendour, the multi-building emporium also encompasses a Cheval Blanc boutique hotel and twelve restaurants. (more…)