Fashion retailer Gap is set to reopen standalone stores in the United Kingdom this winter, reinstating a UK flagship in London’s Covent Garden and adding sites at Westfield London and Wembley Park’s London Designer Outlet.

The Covent Garden flagship, at 30-31 Long Acre, opens on 7 November. Westfield London follows on 4 December, with an outlet store launching at Wembley Park’s London Designer Outlet on 18 December. Drapers reported the timeline and locations.

The move marks a return to bricks-and-mortar after the company closed all 81 shops across the UK and Republic of Ireland in 2021, citing market dynamics and a shift to becoming a digital first business. Following those closures, Gap entered a joint venture with Next, which operates Gap’s ecommerce via Total Platform and runs shop-in-shop concepts in selected locations. Gap currently trades from four shop-in-shops in Next stores, including Oxford Street in London, Braehead in Glasgow, and Manchester’s Trafford and Arndale centres, with over 40 concessions across England and Ireland.

The new stores form part of what Gap has described as a global brand reinvigoration, with a focus on connecting with customers through meaningful shopping experiences. Gap’s UK flagship will house lines across womenswear, menswear and childrenswear.

Industry context points to the brand’s broader repositioning after years of retrenchment to its home market. The company has reported that the majority of its revenue is concentrated in the United States and that turnover outside the United States and Canada was just over $609 million in its last fiscal year. The group’s second-quarter sales stood at $3.725 billion, in line with the same period in 2024, while operating income grew.

The staged UK relaunch, anchored by a central London flagship and two high-footfall destinations, restores a physical presence for a label long associated with American casualwear staples. First founded in San Francisco in 1969 and entering the UK in 1987, Gap became known for logo T-shirts, jumpers and denim before its 2021 exit from standalone retail.

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