SCOTCH & SODA ACCELERATES GROWTH WITH THE OPENING OF 20 NEW STORES IN KEY CITIES OVER THE NEXT SIX MONTHS

by John Russel Jones

Amsterdam-based lifestyle and fashion brand Scotch & Soda announced today that it will open a total of 20 new brick-and-mortar stores globally over the next 6 months.

Highlights of the retail network acceleration include the upcoming launch of two Scotch & Soda flagship stores in Milan and London, its largest European stores outside of The Netherlands. New directly operated and franchise shops will also open in key cities such as Washington D.C., and Boston, marking the 50th store opening in North America, as well as in Frankfurt, Dubai, Doha, Tel Aviv, Johannesburg, Cairo, Shanghai, and Beijing. It follows the recent opening of 16 stores globally in the last 6 months. 

Additionally, Scotch & Soda will continue to roll out its rebranding strategy this year, with the refit of existing stores under its vibrant “Free Spirit” new design concept in cities such as Amsterdam, Paris, Lyon, Madrid, Barcelona, and Luxemburg City.

“The growth momentum we saw last year continues to strengthen, with more locations launching globally. We are looking forward to the opening of our flagship stores in Milan and London, in two of the world’s most attractive fashion retail destinations. It is a great opportunity to reach new customers worldwide, and to introduce them to our brand, inspired by the free spirit of Amsterdam”, comments Frederick Lukoff, CEO.

The brand opened a new store in Scottsdale, Arizona, in February, and in Boston, Massachusett’s Seaport neighborhood just last week. Other stores will open in May, in the Union Market area of Washington, D.C., in June in the Sommerset Collection shopping mall in Detroit, and in July, in the La Cantera mall in San Antonio in July. By the end of September 2022, the brand’s store count in North America will reach 50 locations, including 46 in the United States and four in Canada.

The “Free Spirit” Store Design

The interiors of the new brick-and-mortar locations will carry Scotch & Soda’s “Free Spirit” store design concept launched last year. Inspired by the power of self-expression and the free spirit of Amsterdam, the city where the brand was born, the concept combines warm colors and sleek design elements to connect the expected with the unexpected and includes sustainable features such as LED lighting, FSC-certified wood herringbone flooring and new hangers made of recycled materials.

The façades will carry the new brand logo revealed in March of last year, which embraces the symbol of unity at the heart of Scotch & Soda’s name, the ampersand, which follows the delicate movement of a thread attached to the eye of a needle, nodding to the craftsmanship that goes into the brand’s collections. 

The acceleration of Scotch & Soda’s global retail network will be combined with the brand’s omnichannel and unified commerce ambition, to be completed in the Fall of 2022. This follows the integration of RFID technology in partnership with Nedap for stock level optimization, as well as the opening in September of this year of a new 27,500-square-metre warehouse in Hoofddorp, on the outskirts of Amsterdam. The new warehouse will include a roof entirely fitted with solar panels and automatically irrigated vertical gardens.