German womenswear brand Oui plans to open up to 10 franchise stores in the UK in 2017.
It is in discussions with prospective partners, targeting locations such as Guildford and Oxford, and Fulham and Maida Vale in London.
Oui operated its own stores in the UK in the 1980s, but closed them in the 1990s to focus on wholesaling to independent retailers. Today, it is stocked in 200 independents across the UK, as well as in House of Fraser and John Lewis.
“We don’t want to go back down the route of owned stores,” explained Alon Junger, who runs the business with his wife, Maya Junger, and her brother, Daniel Gottesdiener. “It’s better to partner with entrepreneurs who are entrenched in their local communities.”
Oui has 40 franchise stores in Germany, 10 in Austria and three in the Netherlands. It has one existing franchise store in the UK, in Harpenden, which has been open for more than 15 years and is doing “incredibly well”, Junger said.
The store concept, which was designed by an in-house team of architects, was updated at the beginning of this year. It combines white surfaces and chrome with black oak.