Brompton to open flagship store and e-bike hire scheme in Westfield London

Brompton is to open a new flagship store in Westfield London, Shepherd’s Bush, as part of the global expansion of its network of Brompton Junction retail stores.

Opening April 2019, the new store will complement the existing Brompton Junction store in Covent Garden – currently the number one store worldwide for sales of new Brompton Bicycles and accessories, said the brand. Globally, there will be 15 Brompton Junction stores, this latest part of a broader brand partnership with Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, giving Brompton access to Westfield London’s digital media screen network and provide content for the destination’s social media platforms, to promote the brand and the flagship store to a wider audience.

Following Westfield’s recent £600m expansion, Brompton will use the shop to showcase its most popular and effective in-store retail concepts, including interactive bike build facilities and live demo area housed within the Westfield London destination, along with the brand’s first electric bike hire scheme in the UK.

The entire store will focus on the experiential, with a digitally connected retail environment offering a customer-centric purchase and ownership experience, whilst remaining primarily all about the bike.

To commemorate the opening of the new store and to mark the next chapter for Brompton in the company’s home city of London, a new special edition Brompton W12 edition will be launched.

Brompton grows share & will offer e-bike hire

Despite the UK being notoriously poor for cycle market stats, at least for the time being, the press statement has included some market statistics. It said that Brompton holds a 12% share of the hybrid/commuter sector of the bicycle market, up by 0.7% in 2018 and has seen a 7% sales increase from 2017 to 2018. These figures do not include e-bike, a sector Brompton has recently joined.

The Brompton Electric will be available to hire from Brompton Junction, Westfield London, representing the launch of the first electric folding bike hire scheme in the UK.

There will also be a Drop and Shop scheme, allowing registered Brompton owners to leave their Brompton’s securely in store whilst they shop.

CEO Will Butler-Adams said: “We need to take 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… 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.”