The UK’s Top 5 Fastest-Growing Retailers

What makes a successful retailer? For many, it's about finding the right niche (whether that's focusing on either value or luxury), putting effort into growing online sales or finding new and exciting ways to entice shoppers into their brick and mortar stores.

OC&C Strategy Consultants have revealed the UK's fastest growing retailers of 2016 - and here are their top five, based on percentage growth.

Irish toy superstore Smyths began life in 1986 and has since expanded to include over 110 stores in the UK and Ireland, as well as a successful online presence. They sell everything from baby toys to jigsaws, construction sets, video games and outdoor toys. Their success is down to a combination of a fantastic use of social media, a seamless online shopping experience and marketing campaigns that sell the magic of play. Their in-store experience is basic but focused around value - key for most parents.

Sports fashion and equipment retailer JD Sports began its story with a single shop in Bury in 1981 and they now have over 800 stores in total. Their success is twofold: the growth in store numbers is thanks to successful buyouts of other smaller sports retail brands, while their sales growth is partly due to increased public interest in sport and a generally healthy lifestyle. In certain stores, they've invested in new concepts such as digital screens, self-service kiosks and flexible fixtures and fittings.

Established in 2009, Wren Kitchens is one of the newer businesses on the list. The kitchen designer, manufacturer and retailer boasts over 60 beautiful UK showrooms that allow customers to see the quality of the kitchens for themselves, while getting ideas for how they want their own kitchens to look. Success comes down to a combination of in-store layout and service, their expertise and their commitment to making high quality, British-designed kitchens that are affordable for everyone.

A little different to the previous retailers, The Hut Group is an online-only company founded in 2004. With over 100 international FMCG websites to their name including The Hut, Lookfantastic, Mankind Direct and Zavvi, their success boils down to their aggressive acquisition strategy, as well as the fact that they white label their proprietary technology to help large bricks and mortar retailers to establish an online presence.

Farfetch focuses on online luxury fashion retail, selling from over 700 different global brands and boutiques. Their story began in 2007, when founder José Neves decided to create a platform for independent fashion boutiques to gain an online audience. These boutiques now benefit from both their bricks and mortar stores and an online presence, with their back stories showcased on the Farfetch site. Their success? It's down to finding an untapped niche, as well as realising that different customers shop in different ways, with online and offline sales both key.

If you're looking to ramp up your in-store environment to encourage faster growth within your retail business, KAS Shopfittings can help. Our family-run business has been providing quality shop fittings since 1984 - contact us to find out how we can help.