New Delhi: Lefties, Zara’s budget-friendly sister brand, has opened its first physical store in the UK, bringing its low-cost fashion offering and introducing robotics to the British high street.
The store, owned by Spanish fashion group Inditex, opened at the Liverpool One retail centre on Thursday, marking the brand’s first physical outlet in the UK.
Speaking about the potential expansion of its physical-store network, Xavier Rus Riera, general director of Lefties, said there is currently no exact plan for how many stores the brand could eventually open in the UK.
“We don’t have a number. We’re trying to meet the requirements of customers. It’s like football, we’ll proceed match by match,” said Riera.
The Spanish fashion brand will compete with Primark, Shein and supermarkets with the launch of Lefties.
“We believe there is a strong opportunity to bring our proposition to UK customers, offering quality fashion and home collections for the whole family at accessible prices through a seamless in-store and online shopping experience,” Riera added.
Lefties already operates 225 stores in 20 markets worldwide. Its 27,000-square-foot UK store is designed as a family destination, offering clothing for men, women, teens and children.
Robots take over the checkout
One of the highlights of the store is its use of robotics to help streamline operations and reduce staffing costs.
Its self-checkout system can scan an entire basket at once, while a dedicated automated system sorts clothing hangers. After customers make a purchase, the robots sort the hangers into boxes based on their size.
A fast-fashion backlash
The name Lefties dates back to 1999, when Inditex launched the brand to sell leftover and unsold Zara merchandise. Lefties also has an online store offering its full range of collections.
However, as the store opened and crowds gathered outside, social media users expressed concern about social media users expressed concern about fast-fashion waste, its environmental impact, and how the new store could contribute to the problem.
“This is depressing AF. When Nepal just experienced a catastrophic natural disaster, we have experienced heatwave after heatwave this summer, and the rest of Europe [is] burning up. Fast fashion is destroying our planet!” wrote one user on Instagram.
“Last thing we need is more fast, cheap fashion. Plus it’s a totally unethical brand,” another comment read.
The social media discussion soon turned to the quality of Zara clothing as well.
“‘Hopefully it’s the same quality as Zara’ … Do people think Zara is good quality?!?” said one user on Instagram.
“Zara ain’t exactly quality to begin with, so Jesus, this stuff will barely last a month,” said another.
(Edited by Maryam Hassan)