Brompton to open new flagship store in Westfield London

Brompton has announced the planned opening of a new flagship store in Westfield London, as part of the global expansion of its network of Brompton Junction retail stores.

The new store will include interactive bike build facilities and a live demo area housed within the Westfield London destination, along with the brand’s first e-bike hire scheme in the UK. The design is to be based on a functioning workshop, as well as offering a range of aftersales and servicing facilities. Trained experts will be on hand within the store to offer technical advice and help with interactive bike builds and fittings.

To commemorate the opening of the new store, a new special edition Brompton W12 edition will be launched. The new special edition model features an exclusive colour, matt metallic blue, combined with black componentry and a black Brooks Cambium saddle and will be available only from the London Westfield store.

Set to open in April 2019, the new Brompton Junction store in Westfield London will complement the existing Brompton Junction store in Covent Garden in London, and will take the number of Brompton Junction stores in the UK to two and globally to 15. The new unit is part of a broader brand partnership with Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield that will see Brompton access Westfield London’s digital media screen network and provide content for the destination’s social media platforms.

The new store opening is in response to increased customer demand and a growing sales volume globally but specifically within the UK, the brand has said. Brompton currently holds a 12% share of the hybrid/commuter sector of the bike market, up by 0.7% in 2018 and has seen a 7% sales increase from 2017 to 2018. These figures do not include e-bikes, a sector Brompton has recently joined. The Brompton Electric will be available to hire from Brompton Junction, Westfield London. There will also be a Drop and Shop scheme, allowing registered Brompton owners to leave their Bromptons in store whilst they shop.

Will Butler-Adams, CEO of Brompton, said: “At Brompton we want to get more people cycling in and around cities and find way to get the vast majority who know how to ride a bike, but continue to pay to go down a hole in the ground or sit frustrated in a metal box, to remember the freedom and fun of cycling. To do this we need to take the Brompton to the customer. This has been the philosophy with our Brompton Junction stores across the world; beautiful stores in great cities, inspiring a lifestyle change to a broad spectrum of urbanites. In opening a store in Westfield London, we are taking this to a new level, operating in one of the largest retail extravaganzas’ in Europe, with an opportunity to engage with a huge audience. We see genuine value in a partnership with Westfield beyond simply renting retail space. We want to work together to deliver an integrated experience for customers that also really influences how people think about mobility within an urban city space.”

Paul Buttigieg, director of commercial partnerships, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, added: “We’re thrilled to be welcoming Brompton Bicycle to Westfield London in the Spring this year. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield centres pride themselves on bringing new experiences to our shoppers first, and this well-loved UK brand’s new flagship store will offer Brompton’s first ever electric folding-bike hire scheme anywhere in the UK. What’s exciting is the focus Brompton is placing on forming a broader brand partnership, creating an integrated 360 experience for our customers who will receive content through our social and digital media platforms, as well as access to seasonal events allowing them to engage with its fantastic products. With this full brand integration approach and ’Rental Retail’ on the up as seen through URW research, we have no doubt the store will be a huge success.”