Clothing and home retailer Matalan will invest over £25 million in its UK store estate as part of its business transformation strategy.

The investment will be used for store openings and upgrades as well as improving its digital and e-commerce offering.

Matalan will launch a new app, which will underpin the retailer’s e-commerce channel and loyalty programme.

The investment will enable it to upgrade 30 existing stores and open 10 new and relocated stores this year to expand its footprint in key areas.

The move is the first phase of a long-term programme to modernise Matalan’s full estate over the next three to five years.

The retailer said it aims to open around 10 stores each year, focusing on new locations.

Additionally, Matalan will upgrade around 30 stores each year, improving layouts and store design to create a greater definition between key departments and relocating all services like fitting rooms and tills to a single, more accessible area.

New customer-focused technology, such as faster and easier-to-use self-service tills in larger checkout areas, will also be rolled out across the refreshed locations.

The company said that it has already seen a significant increase in sales, exceeding expectations, across recently refurbished stores in Croydon, Linwood, Bristol Filton, and Dumfries.

“Matalan storefronts have been a fixture of UK communities for 40 years, so it is only right that bricks-and-mortar retail remains at the centre of our transformation programme,” said James Dorling, Matalan’s property director. “With ten exciting new store openings and extensive refurbishments across our estate, this investment marks a step-change in our strategy – creating a better, more seamless shopping experience for our loyal existing customers, while also introducing the Matalan brand to new consumers.”

Last week, Matalan announced it had upgraded to a new commerce platform to boost its point-of-sale functionality.

The new platform includes self-enablement features, including an intuitive screen designer, a “cutting edge" promotion tool, and configuration management to allow in-store teams to make updates without relying on third-party support.

As part of the project, Matalan will also upgrade approximately 1,800 in-store devices to the latest generation hardware from Toshiba.

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