Last updated: 24 September 2026 at 10.00am BST
In short
- UNIQLO has confirmed that its Brighton store at Churchill Square is due to open in 2027.
- The retailer told local media it is targeting spring or summer, but no exact opening date has been announced.
- The store will occupy the former H&M unit on the Western Road frontage, covering about 1,620 square metres across two floors.
- A planning application for new shopfront details and signs is still part of the process.
- Opening hours, recruitment numbers and a confirmed launch day have not yet been published.
The UNIQLO Brighton store is set to open at Churchill Square in 2027, giving the Japanese clothing retailer a city-centre base on the shopping centre’s Western Road frontage.
UNIQLO’s official new-store page now lists “UNIQLO Churchill Square” as opening in 2027 and describes it as a new Brighton store. Brighton and Hove News reported on Thursday 24 September that the company is planning a spring or summer opening next year.
That is a meaningful new detail. Earlier reporting had established that UNIQLO wanted the former H&M premises, but the retailer had not publicly put the Brighton branch into an opening year.
What has been confirmed about the UNIQLO Brighton store
The store is planned for the two-storey unit beside Churchill Square’s eastern entrance, facing Western Road. H&M vacated the space when it moved into the former Topshop unit nearby.
The premises cover about 1,620 square metres, according to the latest local report. UNIQLO’s announcement calls this its Brighton store, while the company’s UK chief operating officer, Alessandro Dudech, described it as the brand’s first store in the city.
That “first store” description appears to overlook UNIQLO’s earlier Brighton branch. A contemporary Argus report from April 2003 said the North Street shop would close that June, less than six months after opening, with 25 jobs lost. A licensed photographic record of 134–138 North Street also lists UNIQLO as an occupant in 2002–03.
The Churchill Square opening is therefore better understood as a return to Brighton after more than two decades, not the brand’s first appearance in the city. That history does not predict how the new store will perform, but it is relevant context for judging the retailer’s renewed commitment.
There is an important qualification: 2027 is confirmed, but the exact day is not. The spring-or-summer timing is the company’s current target as reported locally, not a fixed public launch date. Shoppers should not make plans around a particular month yet.
A Brighton and Hove City Council planning application covers the proposed shopfront and UNIQLO signs. The application documents describe signs on the street elevations, at the corner rotunda and above the main entrance. They do not, on their own, amount to confirmation that every fit-out milestone has been completed.
Why the opening matters for Brighton city centre
This is more than another name on a shop directory. The unit is large, highly visible and sits on one of the main walking routes between Western Road, Churchill Square and the seafront.
Brighton and Hove News reported when the planning application appeared that filling the space would leave all the permanent retail units on this part of Churchill Square’s Western Road frontage occupied for the first time since Topshop collapsed in 2020. That makes the letting a useful test of whether major retailers still see Brighton’s centre as a place for long-term investment rather than only temporary pop-ups.
The location also matters because it can be reached without a car. Churchill Square is served by numerous city bus routes and is within walking distance of Brighton railway station. For residents who currently travel to London or shop online for UNIQLO products, a Brighton branch removes that journey.
There are trade-offs. A large international chain will add footfall and fill a prominent space, but it also increases competition for independent clothing shops and established local retailers. The strongest local benefit will come if the opening creates stable jobs and draws people who also spend money elsewhere in the city centre. UNIQLO has not yet published Brighton staffing numbers, so that part of the impact cannot be assessed.
What residents need to know
- Location: Churchill Square Shopping Centre, Western Road, Brighton BN1 2TE, in the former H&M unit beside the eastern entrance.
- Opening: 2027. Spring or summer is the current reported target, but there is no confirmed launch date.
- Planning: the shopfront and signage documents can be viewed through the council’s public planning portal using the link above.
- Jobs: no Brighton vacancy total or recruitment timetable has been announced. Treat social-media job adverts cautiously and use links published by UNIQLO itself.
- Updates: UNIQLO’s official new-store page is the best place to check for a firm date when one is released.
Brighton Locals’ view
The confirmation is positive for Churchill Square and for a stretch of Western Road that has had conspicuous vacancies since the upheaval in high-street retail after 2020. Filling a 1,620-square-metre unit with a permanent tenant is more significant than a short-lived pop-up.
But the announcement is still deliberately broad. “Opening 2027” is not the same as an opening date, and the practical local benefits cannot be judged fully until UNIQLO publishes its recruitment plans, opening hours and final fit-out timetable.
Our view is therefore cautiously positive: the letting strengthens the city-centre retail offer, but the evidence that matters next is delivery — planning progress, local jobs and a confirmed launch date.
What to watch next
The next concrete milestones are the council’s decisions on the shopfront and signage proposals, the start of visible fit-out work and the first Brighton-specific vacancies. A firm opening date would replace the current spring-or-summer target.
Evidence of delays in the planning or fit-out process would weaken confidence in the timetable. Conversely, published recruitment numbers and an announced launch day would make the local economic benefit easier to measure.
Bottom line
UNIQLO has moved the Brighton store from retail rumour to a confirmed 2027 opening at Churchill Square. The location and broad timetable are now clear; the exact date, jobs and final delivery schedule are the details Brighton still needs.
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