Popular plus-size fashion retailer Evans has made a return to the UK high street after a six-year absence. The brand, which caters to sizes 14 to 32, closed all its physical stores in 2020 following the collapse of its parent company, Arcadia Group, into administration.
Background of Evans
During its peak in the late 1990s and 2000s, Evans had a substantial high street presence with more than 300 stores across the UK and abroad, including multiple locations in Wales. When Arcadia Group collapsed in November 2020, the brand was sold to Australian retailer City Chic Collective, resulting in the permanent closure of over 100 shops. Since then, Evans operated exclusively online.
In 2023, City Chic Collective sold Evans to AK Retail for £8 million. AK Retail is the parent company of Yours Clothing and also owns Long Tall Sally and M&Co.
Return to Physical Retail
After six years, Evans has formally returned to physical retail. Instead of standalone stores, the brand is now available as dedicated concessions within over 50 Yours Clothing sites across the UK and Ireland. One of these locations is in Swansea, Wales. Of these, 36 stores have received major upgrades to incorporate full, permanent Evans-branded areas.
Key locations include Liverpool, Swansea, Watford, Nottingham, Hempstead Valley, and Glasgow Braehead.
Statement from Yours Clothing
A spokesperson for Yours Clothing said: "Plus-size women are among the most loyal fashion shoppers in the UK. When a brand gets it right - when the fit works, the range is genuine, and the product reflects real women, they come back. Evans earned that loyalty over decades. And when the brand reduced its high street presence, its customers did not stop looking."
History of Evans
Established in 1930 by manufacturer Jack Green, the brand initially debuted as Evans Outsize. It was among the earliest high-street retailers in the UK to champion mass-market, fashionable womenswear specifically designed for sizes 14 and above.
