Lidl on Grafton Street? It must be a pop-up

Lidl is coming to Grafton Street but for four days only. The German discounter will open a pop-up store on the country's premier retail street on Thursday for a new fashion brand it is launching.

The retailer has taken a short-term lease at 32 Grafton Street to display its new autumn/winter range Esmara, which it has created in conjunction with German supermodel Heidi Klum.

The unit was formerly home to The Loft Cafe, and is adjacent to John Brereton Jewellers. According to a spokeswoman, opening the pop-up was an initiative of Lidl Ireland.

The new collection, “a tribute to New York and all the city’s self-confident women” will be available for preview – not purchase – in the pop-up store from September 14th until the 17th, with the new collection hitting Lidl stores around the country from next Monday.

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It’s the first time Klum has designed a range for Lidl, which operates about 150 stores in Ireland.

The 20-piece collection, which is available in sizes 8 to 18, is heavy on the leopard print, with a 100 per cent suede jacket, retailing in black or brown for €59.99, expected to be a popular seller.

One of the items on display in the store is a blazer , which may be familiar to shoppers thanks to the display of the sign "as seen on Heidi Klum in America's Got Talent". Skinny jeans in the range are from €14.99 with bomber jackets retailing for €19.99, and coats from €24.99.

According to the Lidl spokeswoman, the grocer will introduce “virtual mirrors” in supermarkets around the country, in lieu of changing rooms, which will allow you to try on clothes virtually by swiping your hand across a screen – in case you don’t feel comfortable trying on your new suede jacket beside the frozen pizzas.

It’s not the first time Lidl has mooted a Grafton Street store. Back in the summer of 2008, there was talk that it was considering moving into the former Habitat store at the end of Grafton street, which had closed. In the end, Abercrombie & Fitch snapped up the site.

While Grafton Street suffered during the downturn, the arrival of new tenants like & Other Stories and the imminent arrival of Victoria’s Secret has given the street a lift.

A recent report from CBRE found that Grafton Street is one of the fastest-growing prime retail locations in the world, on the back of a 10.5 per cent year-on-year increase in rents in the first quarter of 2017.

CBRE expects “further upward pressure” on Grafton Street rents over the coming months. It is still Ireland’s most expensive retail thoroughfare, and at the end of 2016, Zone A rents the street were at €6,500 a square metre.