5 days ago
Lefties Opens First UK Store With Robotics and Low-Cost Fashion
Lefties is a clothing store owned by the company behind Zara.
It opened its first physical shop in the UK at Liverpool One.
The shop sells clothes and home items for adults, teenagers and children.
It has machines that can scan a whole shopping basket at once.
Other machines sort the hangers after customers buy clothes.
Lefties has not decided how many more UK stores it might open.
Some shoppers like the affordable prices and new technology.
Other people worry that fast fashion creates waste and may not last long.
Inditex-owned Lefties opened its first UK physical store at Liverpool One.
The 27,000-square-foot store sells fashion and home collections for the whole family.
Lefties will compete with Primark, Shein and supermarket clothing ranges.
Robotic systems scan whole baskets at self-checkout and sort clothing hangers automatically.
The launch drew social-media criticism over fast-fashion waste, environmental impact and product quality.
- Who
- Lefties, owned by Spanish fashion group Inditex, opened the store.
- What
- Lefties launched its first UK physical store, offering low-cost fashion and home collections with robotic retail systems.
- Where
- Liverpool One retail centre in the UK.
- When
- The store opened on Thursday; the articles do not specify the date.
- Why
- Inditex said it sees an opportunity to offer accessible-price fashion and home products to UK customers.
Affordable Retail and Innovation
Environmental and Quality Concerns
Low-cost fashion
Affordable Retail and Innovation
Lefties says it offers quality fashion and home collections for the whole family at accessible prices.
Environmental and Quality Concerns
Critics on social media said the UK needs less fast, cheap fashion because of concerns about waste and environmental damage.
Robotics in stores
Affordable Retail and Innovation
The automated checkout and hanger-sorting systems are presented as ways to streamline operations and reduce staffing costs.
Environmental and Quality Concerns
The articles do not report a direct criticism of the robotics, but some commenters opposed the wider fast-fashion model represented by the store.
Product quality
Affordable Retail and Innovation
Lefties promotes a quality fashion proposition at affordable prices.
Environmental and Quality Concerns
Some social-media users questioned whether Lefties products would be durable, while also criticizing perceptions of Zara’s quality.
Key facts
- Owner
- Spanish fashion group Inditex
- First UK store
- Opened at Liverpool One
- Store size
- 27,000 square feet
- Existing global presence
- 225 stores across 20 markets
- Product range
- Clothing for men, women, teenagers and children, plus home collections
- Retail technology
- Basket-scanning self-checkout and automated hanger sorting
- Potential expansion
- No exact number of future UK stores has been decided
Quotes
Xavier Rus Riera
General director 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.”
theprint.in
“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!”
theprint.in
Sources
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