Harvey Nichols is to replicate its successful Birmingham store in Ireland.

The "boutique" format - the Mailbox store boasts a capsule collection rather than rail after rail of fashion and accessories - offers key pieces from the leading designers.

Four years on, the Birmingham experiment has proved such a success that Harvey Nichols is taking the same concept and opening a new store later this year in Dublin.

"The boutique store has been hugely successful in Birmingham," said a Harvey Nichols spokesman. "Shoppers enjoy the more intimate and relaxed atmosphere rather than pushing their way through crowds to get a glimpse of the latest musthave dress.

"Most of us don't have the time to spend hours going through piles and piles of clothes until we find what we're after. We lead edited lives, and this concept appeals directly to that."

Dublin will be Harvey Nichols' debut into the Irish market. Situated in the plush Dundrum retail centre three miles south of the city, the 32,000sq ft store will form the centrepiece of the upmarket Fashion District when it launches in September.

The new area will be home to more than 220 retail outlets.

Joseph Wan, Harvey Nichols chief executive, said: "We have witnessed over the last five years the keen appetite that major centres outside of London have for luxury."