H&M Looking to Build More Stores in Calif.
Real estate agents across California are trying to figure out what the next move will be for Swedish cheap-chic retailer Hennes & Mauritz LP, which is opening a 35,000-square-foot store in San Francisco in November.
One rumor had H&M planning to lease space in June in a building on the 260 block of N. Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills, but H&M representative Lisa Sandberg said the retailer has not made any commitments in Southern California.
“We are looking for places in San Francisco and Los Angeles,” Sandberg said. “The United States is considered one of H&M’s biggest expansion markets.”
The San Francisco store will be located at 150 Powell St., near Union Square. The store, one of the biggest H&M outfits in the United States, will sell women’s, men’s and youth collections, as well as lingerie and cosmetics.
New York–based retail analyst Mercedes Gonzalez said H&M should do well in the niche of cheap but fashionable retail that is currently dominated by Los Angeles–based Forever 21. She said H&M might have an advantage because it offers a European fashion focus, makes 14 deliveries each month and manufactures fashionable clothes for women older than 25.
But the market in Southern California for cheap, chic and European looks already includes Spanish retailer Zara, which operates stores in the South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa and at the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. Another Spanish retailer, Mango, recently announced it will kick off its U.S. expansion with a Los Angeles store and follow up with stores in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Boston and Miami.
