Nothing will open a physical store in London by the end of the year

Nothing plans to open its first physical retail location in London’s Soho district before Christmas this year, the company has announced. The store will be located at 4 Peter Street, between Gosh! Comics and the London outlet of fashion brand Supreme. News of the store comes a day before Nothing is due to announce its latest pair of earbuds, the Ear Stick, which it will sell at the store alongside its other devices.

In the past, Nothing has used pop-up locations to promote and sell products, but this is the first time the company will have a permanent retail presence. Nothing CEO Carl Pei has said in the past that his ambition is for Nothing to compete with Apple, which has long operated a global network of stores to offer sales and servicing for its devices, not to mention huge physical advertisements for the company. But the size and location of Nothing’s first physical store, away from London’s major shopping areas like Oxford Street, highlights the huge disparity in scale between it and the iPhone maker.

“Following the successful launch of Ear 1 and Phone 1, it’s the perfect time to shake things up again and offer our community a space where they can engage with each other and our products,” Nothing general manager Ryan Latham said in a statement. “Neighboured by iconic brands like Supreme, we have the unique position of being the only tech store in the area.”