The outlet, which is called 191 and is based in London's Notting Hill, opened at the end of the summer. It sells clothing, underwear and make-up, as well as ice cream in an Italian-style cafe at the rear of the store. The French Connection and FCUK brands are only visible on labels and products.
French Connection's head of marketing, Matthew Griffiths, said that the idea was conceived by chief executive Stephen Marks. Griffiths added: 'He is trying something more localised and playing with the format to see how it works.'
He added that there was potential to open similar stores based on 191 in other cities. The London store is situated on the same road as an outlet of French Connection-owned Nicole Farhi, which is called 202. A further 202 outlet is to open in New York this month.
In July French Connection suffered a 9% drop in share price after the FCUK brand was described as 'tired' and 'tacky' in the press. However, Marks insisted he will not axe the FCUK slogan.
FCUK's half-year results to July showed a 60% drop in operating profits at its UK shops. Like-for-like sales fell 9.5%, compared with an 11% growth for the same period in 2003.
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