First robot-assisted outlet opens in Liverpool to take on Shein and supermarkets in clothing, shoes and homewares

The owner of Zara is taking on Primark, Shein and the supermarkets with the launch of its cut-price chain Lefties in Britain, backed by an army of robots.

The Spanish fashion brand opened its first UK store in Liverpool on Thursday, a few weeks after quietly launching its UK website.

The store has embraced robotics to reduce staffing costs, with self-checkouts that scan a whole basket in one go and a clothes-hanger sorter. Shoppers put their hangers in a slot as they pay and they are taken on a hidden conveyor belt to two robots behind a screen who sort them into boxes for different sizes.

The outlet at the Liverpool One city centre development also has fitting rooms equipped with a hatch through which unwanted items go to be sorted behind the scenes, again by robots.

The garment-sorting system splits clothes into rails for each department ready to be taken away to the shop floor or packed into the stockroom.

The Liverpool store is the first of three Lefties planned in the UK this year. The other two will be in the Lakeside shopping mall in Essex, and Metrocentre near Newcastle, with more expected next year.

Just before the official opening, as more than 100 customers queued up to be the first British shoppers, the chain’s general director said the group was “not thinking about a specific number” of UK stores and would look at how the first few went before taking next steps.

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