Selfridges Is Buying Into The Future Of Wellness

LONDON, United Kingdom — Selfridges is set to host a series of fitness ‘pop ups’ featuring British indoor cycling studio Psycle and immersive yoga experience YUNG CLUB, as part of its overall commitment to the future of wellness in retail.

In conjunction with the launch of the Body Studio, a 37,000 sq ft space dedicated to wellness, the world famous department store will transform the Ultra Lounge in its Oxford Street branch into a state-of-the-art fitness space for three months.

“As a young British business we are so excited to be partnering with such a legendary brand as Selfridges,” Rhian Stephenson, CEO of Psycle told Welltodo.

“We can’t wait to bring our iconic workout to the Body Studio and collaborate with other brands on something we are truly passionate about – wellness,” she explained.

Starting from 11th April, the Psycle pop up will run for six weeks before YUNG CLUB takes over, as Selfridges explores the future of fitness through euphoric workouts.

Psycle opened its first location on Mortimer St in 2014, before expanding to Canary Wharf. It now attracts over 5000 riders per week.

The brand’s high energy classes and holistic approach to wellbeing have cultivated a strong community spirit – their classes regularly selling-out.

Taking their edge and unique style to a new studio, Psycle hopes to build on their already strong presence in the capital and support growing demand for their classes, especially amidst ongoing threats of US indoor spinning giant SoulCycle entering the UK market.

In addition to the new fitness venue, The Body Studio at Selfridges will offer a unique combination of fashion, food and wellbeing.

Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley, will open their first ever Hemsley + Hemsley Café in the one-of-a-kind space, hosting a series of talks and debates centered around wellness, while a number of other services dedicated to lingerie, sportswear and beauty will also feature.

Following in the footsteps of Fenwicks of Bond Street, which recently partnered with renowned fitness concept Bodyism to open an in-store cafe, Selfridges is one of many retailers implementing new wellness-centric strategies.

In the US, Saks Fifth Avenue has introduced a myriad of new beauty and fitness initiatives including brand hosted pop-up shops at popular fitness studios including AKT, Pure Yoga and Physique 57. While in Paris, Galeries Lafayette, which launched a 4,300 square-foot section dedicated to sportswear last year, now offers wellness advice as well as hosting a number of workout classes taught by high-profile brands.

Retail models such as these are set to become the norm according to innovation and research company Stylus, suggesting that physical and emotional wellbeing are so high on consumers’ agendas, that retailers must recalibrate their strategies in order to meet their demands.

From holistic hubs and in-store fitness studios to wellness clinics and healthy nourishment, department stores are no longer restricting themselves to the sale of products and services, instead they are selling a lifestyle and it’s increasingly centered around health and wellbeing.