Pure Beauty

Lookfantastic follows Sephora into the UK’s thriving Northern beauty hub

By Alessandro Carrara | Published: 25-Jun-2024

Lookfantastic’s first physical store forms part of a wider movement of beauty retailers investing outside the UK capital and in northern England

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A scrappy new UK retail player is entering the ring this year, not in London’s lucrative market but in the thriving northern beauty scene. 

THG’s Lookfantastic will open its first physical store in September in Altrincham, Cheshire, stocking over 90 brands including Color Wow, Sol De Janeiro, NARS and YSL.

But the pureplay beauty retailer is the not only business making a move on the north, as a wave of new stores hit the region’s cities in 2024. 

Sephora opened its first store outside of London in May, choosing Manchester’s Trafford Centre as its next beauty hub. 

The French retail giant, clearly serious about its opportunities in the north, is also opening two stores in Newcastle later this year.

These are located less than five miles away from one another at Eldon Square and MetroCentre - serving as a concentrated dose of beauty for the city’s shoppers. 

Space NK is equally making its presence felt in the north, as it prepares to open a new store at Manchester’s Arndale shopping centre and a second at Trafford Centre. 

Another major beauty retailer is also tipped to

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