Scotch & Soda returns to Carnaby Street in London

A year after closing all four UK stores, Scotch & Soda returned to Carnaby Street through a partnership with its South African operator.

Scotch & Soda reopened its store at 13–14 Carnaby Street in London on June 26, 2024, a year after all four of its UK stores closed. The Amsterdam-based brand returns through a partnership with Victor Barbosa, who operates Scotch & Soda in South Africa and has worked with the label for 13 years, and his business partner Shaun Els.

The Carnaby Street unit first opened in August 2013 as the brand’s third London store, a 590-square-foot shop that also stocked Maison Scotch and Amsterdams Blauw. It closed in summer 2023, along with the brand’s stores at Westfield London, Old Spitalfields Market and Covent Garden.

Those closures followed Scotch & Soda’s bankruptcy in the Netherlands in March 2023 and its acquisition by an affiliate of New York-based brand management company Bluestar Alliance, whose portfolio includes Hurley, Elie Tahari, Brookstone, Justice, bebe and Limited Too. Bluestar works through licensees and local partners: in June 2024 the brand’s European retail company, S&S Europe, was declared bankrupt, and the European webstore moved to licensee United Legwear & Apparel Europe. The London store follows the same partner model.

The reopened store carries menswear, womenswear, accessories and footwear, with color accents drawn from the brand’s collections.