European ChainsSwedish company H&M, Europe's largest fashion retailer, is to open a flagship store on Henry Street as well as one in the new Dundrum Town Centre. Jack Fagan reports
Europe's largest fashion retailer, H&M, is to open a flagship store in Dublin's Henry Street in a surprise move that will greatly enhance the appeal of the street.
Zara, the other fashion giant, has already given a major boost to the street by moving into the stylishly redeveloped Roches Stores beside the ILAC centre.
The absence of these two cutting edge fashion houses from Grafton Street puts it at a serious disadvantage but is due entirely to the fact that they could not find sufficiently large premises there.
The announcement that H&M is to follow Zara into Henry Street will come just as fashion traders on Grafton Street are hoping for a pick-up in business in the run-up to Christmas after a generally poor summer trade.
Competition in the out-of-town fashion business will be further strengthened next spring when H&M opens its first Irish store at the new Dundrum Town Centre. The Henry Street store is expected to open a short while later.
The Swedish retailer is reported to be in the final stage of negotiations to rent up to 1,395 sq m (15,000 sq ft) in a key location along Henry Street. H&M is due to open its 1,000th shop shortly and has operations in 17 European countries, Canada and the US. As fashions have globalised it has been able to carry the same range from New York to Helsinki, allowing it to reap huge economies of scale and hold down prices.
The company, which was founded in Sweden in 1947, currently has more than 40,000 employees worldwide and more than doubled its turnover between 1999 and 2002.
H&M prides itself on being able to sell ultra-trendy fashion at competitive prices. It appeals to teens and shoppers in their thirties and forties alike and sells to men, women and children in a broad array of styles and sizes.
It has been particularly adept at producing "fast fashion" - new products based on designer labels which sell quickly. The company has hired German fashion guru Karl Lagerfeld to design a line for it. The Chanel designer has been contracted to create 30 garments and accessories targeted at women.
The collection is expected to hit the stores in November, just in time for the Christmas shopping season.
Besides Henry Street and Dundrum, H&M is also expected to be represented at Blanchardstown, Liffey Valley and possibly The Pavilions in Swords as well as in Cork, Limerick and Galway.
Fergus Keane of Hamilton Osborne King predicts that a H&M store in Henry Street following the success of Zara would "greatly enliven a street getting better and better all the time".
