Paris lands in London as Lids and Saint-Germain open first UK store

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Sep 12, 2023

Indianapolis meets Paris meets London. US sportswear retailer Lids has opened  a 450 sq m monobrand store for French football club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on London’s Oxford Street.

Why the UK? “A country that loves football and is no stranger to setting trends, the United Kingdom has succumbed to PSG mania”, says Lids, which notes the Rouge & Bleu PSG Jersey is worn by many Britons and is especially popular with younger generations. In fact, it says the UK is now the club’s second-biggest market in terms of merchandising. 

The UK also has the world’s third-highest French population outside France and on social media PSG has over 4.5 million followers on X (formerly Twitter). 

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It’s also an opening that Lids describes as a “ground-making move”, founded on the “outstanding work Paris Saint-Germain has done over the last decade to raise and enhance the awareness and presence of its brand on every continent and reinforce the brand’s lifestyle positioning with exclusive collections and collaborations with top local designers and talent”.

The UK launch follows official club stores in Doha, New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Seoul, Miami and, most recently, Las Vegas.

PSG Chief Brand Officer Fabien Allègre said: “Paris Saint-Germain is extremely proud to be the first foreign club to set up shop [in London], on one of the city’s most famous and dynamic shopping streets. It is a bold move that demonstrates the club’s remarkable ability to roll its brand out.”

Lawrence Berger, Co-Founder and Partner at Ames Watson, owner of Lids, and Chairman of FanzzLids Holdings added: “We have had incredible success with PSG stores in New York City, Miami and Las Vegas and look forward to additional exciting store announcements in the near future”.