German stores to launch Paul Smith expansion in Europe

The British designer Sir Paul Smith is stepping up the global expansion of his fashion label and has just made his first German investment.

Paul Smith will open in Hamburg's upmarket Hohe Bleichen and will follow this with stores in Munich and Berlin. The property agent Harper Dennis Hobbs has been hired to search for European stores with a focus on Germany, Switzerland and Scandinavia and hopes to open up to 10 shops in the medium term in the region.

The designer hails from Nottingham and opened his first shop there in 1970. Last year the brand agreed a franchise deal with ImagineX Group to open 24 stores in China. It has already opened in Hong Kong and Tianjin with Shanghai and Beijing to follow shortly.

In Europe the group, famous for its colourful striped designs, has relocated to a larger Paris shop and opened its first womenswear shop. It has three stores in the French capital and 19 in the UK.