In early November, US cosmetics firm Urban Decay will open its first retail store, in the open-air Fashion Island shopping centre in Newport, Connecticut. The 1,000sqft location is close to the firm’s headquarters in Newport Beach and will feature six make-up stations, wooden floors, a customised foyer, digital video wall and a bathroom wallpapered with pictures of the employees’ dogs. It will also feature a 8ft-long chandelier with chains.
As well as its usual make-up ranges, which are available from retailers such as Sephora and Ulta, the firm will offer more eyeshadow and foundation colours and will also sell lifestyle items such as mugs, bags and teeshirts.
The firm was inspired to make the move into freestanding stores because of its international expansion plans, according to Tim Warner, the firm’s CEO. In the US, department store locations are widely available, but in some overseas locations space is at a premium and freestanding stores are more the norm. Urban Decay is owned by L’Oréal, which also owns Kiehl’s, a label which in Europe is appearing in increasing numbers of freestanding stores.
