lululemon opens first store in European airport as it touches down at London Heathrow Terminal 5

Athleisure brand lululemon opened its first airport store in Europe, at Terminal 5 at London’s Heathrow, on Friday.

The 1,110 sq ft location will carry the retailer’s range of leggings, yoga gear, “travel friendly layers” and accessories.

Fraser Brown, Retail Sirector at Heathrow, says: “We are thrilled to welcome lululemon to Heathrow, their first airport store in Europe. It has amassed a cult following for good reason, and we are excited to welcome such an iconic activewear brand to Heathrow.”

“An exciting time and it was great to see our passengers reaction to the brand, as we opened on Friday. The biggest thank you and well done to all involved Charlotte Bakewell (Senior Account Manager), Chloe Dorman (Team Administrator), and Amy Rufino (Senior Project Manager at Hackpen Hill Associates),” says Nancy Stewart, Head of Category - Duty Free, Luxury, Gift & Shopping Services at Heathrow.

London calling

Earlier this year, lululemon relocated its London Regent Street flagship store to a bigger space, making it the company's largest store in EMEA.

The location is double the size of the previous one, with 8,923 sq ft of retail space. It will house lululemon’s men’s and women’s clothing and accessories for yoga, running, training, and everything in-between.

Unique features include lululemon’s biggest pant wall in Europe, its largest assortment of menswear in EMEA, and elements of its newest store design concept. There will also be a water bottle personalisation station and a staircase light feature, which changes tones depending on time of day.

“We’re so excited to open the doors to our biggest store in EMEA”, said Sarah Clark, Senior Vice President, lululemon EMEA. “Regent Street is one of the most important shopping destinations in the world, and 11 years after opening our first store in London we’re delighted to welcome our community to our newest flagship store.”

“With double the space of our previous location, our guests will be able to discover our all gender offering for yoga, run, training, casual, localised product and more, across two incredible floors showcasing our latest beautiful store design. lululemon has seen significant International growth in recent years - we have ambitions to quadruple International sales from 2021-2026 - and this London flagship store will be a must visit destination for both our local and international guests at an exciting time in our EMEA expansion.”  

2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Physical stores will be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards, which are now open for entries, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering. 

For further information on the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, please fill in the below form and we will get back to you asap.