Retail giant, Inditex, which owns Zara, Massimo Dutti and Pull&Bear, is set to bring its ultra-low-cost fashion label Lefties to UK High Streets next year.

Reportedly eyeing 2026 store openings in Westfield, Lakeside and Bluewater shopping centres, as well as London’s Oxford Street, Lefties will offer cut-price apparel across menswear, womenswear and children’s clothing, as well as shoes and accessories.

A battle for budget-fashion spend

The expansion into the UK could shake up the budget-end of High Street fashion, challenging market leader Primark for share of spend. It will also offer cost-conscious shoppers affordable alternatives to fast-fashion pure-plays like SHEIN.

Primark has recently ramped up investment in its UK store network, committing an injection of £75million pounds last year for new site openings and store refurbishments, bringing its total investment to £100million.

This year will see it finalise an estate-wide rollout of Click & Collect services, aiming to improve its omnichannel capabilities, enhance customer convenience and offer shoppers access to its full online catalogue for pick-up in-store. Additionally, it confirmed plans to launch its new mobile app, aimed at meeting shoppers’ growing expectations for mobile-enabled convenience, in the UK within the next 18months.

Shoppers can’t shake fast-fashion despite eco-concerns

Despite a growing consciousness about the environmental impact of fast-fashion among consumers, demand for ultra-low-cost clothing remains high. McKinsey’s data showed that, while 46% of UK shoppers say they avoid buying fast-fashion, over half still made purchases from fast-fashion retailers over the last 12months.

Speaking at Retail Technology Show earlier this year, SHEIN’s Head of Strategic & Commercial Affairs for North America and Europe, Peter Pernot-Day, outlined how it is looking towards circularity to help reduce its environmental impact.

“Our objective is to be circular,” he said. “We think customers will continue to want to self-express through their clothing. And if we’re going to drive changes in customer behaviour and have meaningful impact on the carbon footprint of the fashion industry, we need to look at solutions that align [both] with customer behaviour and economic incentives.”

As well as looking for answers within its total materials mix, dead stock is another green retailing focus. SHEIN works Aloqia (formerly Queen of Raw), integrating its SaaS solution into its purchasing and production platform, re-using materials and giving them a second life to reduce environmental impact.