Zara’s cheaper sister brand to open first UK store in northern city this summer

A Zara sister brand from Spain is headed to the UK high street (Picture: Getty Images) From that polka dot dress to a new viral jacket for every season, Zara is a high street favourite. But did you know the 50-year-old fashion favourite is part of a bigger family? Parent company Inditex also owns popular brands like Bershka, Pull & Bear, and Massimo Dutti — as well as one you might never have heard of: Lefties. Hailing from Spain, and with stores currently across Europe and the UAE, Lefties is set to rival the likes of Primark, with on-trend clothing at a budget price point. Where will the first Lefties store open? Inditex announced this week that Lefties will make its official UK debut in Liverpool at the end of August. Ask Metro Use AI to go deeper into the stories you care about – powered by Metro and trusted publications. The retailer will be setting up shop in Liverpool ONE, the largest open-air shopping centre in the UK. Lefties is a store set to rival Primark in the UK market, with some bargains on its shelves (Picture: SOPA Images) The plan is then to open two further stores: one at Lakeside shopping centre in Essex in early October and one in Gateshead’s Metrocentre in November. Both Lakeside and the Metrocentre are already home to several Inditex brands, as well as Lefties’ biggest rival, Primark. In the capital, there are two possible locations that could be desirable for Lefties. The first being the international shopping hub Oxford Street, which is set to be pedestrianised, or Westfield London in White City. However, Lefties global director Xavier Ruz has reportedly stated that the retailer was ‘not in a hurry to open a lot of stores’ and planned to learn from its first three UK locations before expanding further. Latest London news Inside Lefties First opening its doors in 1993, the store was originally an outlet for Zara’s last season stock. Essentially, it was where the leftovers went – hence the name. Lefties has very cheap prices compared to its sister company Zara (Picture: Cristina Arias/Cover/Getty Images) There are currently stores in the main cities of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Turkey, Morocco, the UAE, and more. The site is Gateshead is expected to be 50,000 square feet and shop will sell womenswear and menswear, homeware, accessories and footwear. For anyone who has been inside a Lefties before, you’ll know how easily it could be mistaken it for a Primark store, sporting a similar layout and clothing presentation. While the UK website is not yet live, the Spanish site offers dresses from around £8 and basic tees from £5. It’s far cheaper than the likes of Zara, where basics start at around £12.99. Primark’s competition Primark is by no means a small fish in the fashion world, with a reported 6% increase in sales in 2024, taking it from £9billion in profits in 2023 to £9.44billion. That’s not to say it’s not feeling increasing pressure from the likes of other fast-fashion retailers such as Shein and Temu, with Primark’s parent company Associated British Foods Plc projecting a levelling out in sales for the second half of this year. Could Primark suffer with the arrival of Lefties? (Picture: Getty) The arrival of Lefties in the UK would certainly add another element of competition on the high street and online, although the two brands already compete in Spain, which is Primark’s second-largest market. And the Lefties expansion won’t just stop in Britain, it’s planning on expanding into the Middle East and North Africa, as well as relaunching in France. Arrow MORE: 16,000,000 more people are now under a hosepipe ban Arrow MORE: Girl, 11, died in River Thames while trying to rescue friend’s shoe Arrow MORE: TikTok famous takeaway destroyed by fire day after it reopened following forced closure