In 2013 alone, Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), the world’s second-largest fashion retailer, opened 356 stores, showing its strong commitment to global expansion. The family-controlled Swedish enterprise seems to want to knock Zara off the top perch as the world’s biggest-selling clothing retailer.
By the end of this year, H&M plans to build 365 new brick-and-mortar shops, mainly in the United States and China, for a total of 3,200 outlets worldwide. Its first shop in Australia opened in April. India and the Philippines will follow suit by the third quarter.
Last July 17, H&M opened its biggest store to date, in Manhattan’s sassy 589 Fifth Avenue at 48th Street.
Anyone will be seduced by its behemoth structure—57,000 square feet of retail space. Think the size of a football field, where endless racks of clothes play center stage and the latest trendy wares are king.
Be ready to get energized as soon as you step into the store. H&M CEO for North America Daniel Kulle aptly described the shopping experience, in an interview with WWD, as a “full-on party atmosphere.” Indeed, it was like stepping into an epic party, complete with a DJ spinning body-rocking beats.
The glass-enclosed façade gives you a peek at what’s bubbling inside the shopping emporium, as disco lights bounce off the ceiling and the windows. The red carpet is rolled out at the main lobby’s entrance to give shoppers a VIP feeling.
Optimum view
Mannequins are arranged in a gallery setting, on a tiered staircase display, mimicking a fashion show runway, which gives shoppers optimum view of the well-edited, trend-based
collection.
The decked-out store is handsome––an impressive five-floor atrium, 26’ x 20’ LED visual entertainment that flashes H&M’s chic fashion films and photos. Interiors are elaborate, with green-and-white marble tiles, opulent floor-to-ceiling mirrors visible throughout the shopping area, and distinct herringbone woodwork as permanent fixtures.
Drool-worthy accents include leather furniture, chandeliers and tufted-fabric walls in the fitting rooms. You can literally spend a day of overindulging here.
The Manhattan store includes every single product line from H&M. Inside you can find the 4-year-old home-furnishing products (the first outlet to have an entire floor dedicated to its home line alone), a shoe lounge with exclusive styles you can’t find in any H&M branch, and a complete sportswear (H&M Sports) and lingerie collection.
There are even items for newborns. Shopping abstinence is definitely not an option here. It also has a personal shopper or a concierge-like service to assist you with you.
To commemorate this grand opening, H&M collaborated with celebrated American artist Jeff Koons in a project called “Fashion Loves Art.” The deal with Koons marks the brand’s first-ever artist collaboration.
Koons is everywhere in New York. His works are in public spaces, including the Rockefeller Center and the Whitney Museum of American Art, where he has a retrospective exhibit that runs through Oct. 19. The exhibit will move to Centre Pompidou, Musee National d’Art Moderne in Paris on Nov. 26 till April 27, 2015, then to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao from June 5 to Sept. 27, 2015.
Koons is said to be the most expensive living artist to sell at an auction at Christie’s in New York last year. His supersized polished steel “Balloon Dog” in orange fetched a whopping
$58.4 million.
Naturally, H&M’s storefront was dressed with Koons’ famed dog and the collaboration features a limited-edition leather sling bag, which was selling like hotcakes at the store’s opening. The bag retails at only $49.95, less than a fraction of Koons’ original art pieces. Unfortunately the bag won’t be available in the Philippines, so you have to order online if you want one. (Note: Order fast before stocks run out!)
According to the press release from H&M, Koons was excited and happy about the collaboration. “The chance to showcase one of my most popular works to a new generation of people was inspiring,” he said.
When in Manhattan, H&M is a nonnegotiable, must-stop shop.
PHOTOS BY STEF CABAL