New H&M Flagship: Herald Center Fall 2014

It is no surprise that H&M is one of the world’s largest fashion retailers thanks to their affordable prices, fast fashion sensibility and amazing collaborations. Now they are going to make their presence even greater in New York City with their largest store globally.

The new location is set for the Herald Center with 63,000 square feet of prime retail space. Herald Center is located at the southwest corner of 34th Street where Broadway and the Avenue of the Americas meet. The new store will showcase all of the H&M collections and will stock H&M’s super fun Home Collection (which only recently made it's online debut in North America).

Expect four floors of retail therapy including ladies and men’s collections, H&M Sport, H&M Mama (maternity collection), H&M+ (plus-sized collection), accessories, cosmetics and H&M’s children’s collection, newborns to kids age 14.

“We are proud to continue our unprecedented expansion in New York City with this groundbreaking Herald Square location. Locking in our 14th store in Manhattan shows our continued commitment to growth in the New York City market,” says Daniel Kulle President of H&M North America. “34th Street has proven to be one of the most successful retail corridors for the brand after having operated two stores there for over 10 years.  With close to 300 stores across the country as well our new Shop Online, the H&M anchor store at this historic intersection will be one of our greatest accomplishments to date.” 

If opening a global flagship wasn't enough, in addition to Herald Center, H&M will open at 4 Times Square at the end of 2013, and on Fifth Avenue (and 48th street) in the spring of 2014.

All of this expansion is good for the local economy, H&M plans to hire 900 new employees with these three New York City openings. Kind of amazing!

H&M currently operates more than 2,900 stores around the world!

Opening Day at Joe Fresh 5th Avenue Flagship Store

On Friday morning I woke up and decided to head over to the Joe Fresh Flagship opening and take a chance trying to snag a $100 Giftcard.  Upon my arrival at 9:25 am there were about 70 people ahead of me - some in folding chairs and sleeping bags.  With the sun shining it didn't seem so bad and plenty of friendly security staff were keeping things orderly.

The sun disappeared and it soon became chilly and tensions rose as temperatures dropped and people tried to jump the line.  Several people tried to cut the line making up stories that they were in line but left to get a bite or went to the bathroom but the truth was they were never in line at all.  Fortunately security guard managed to escort the line cutters away with minimal drama.  And at noon even had to jump in front of a last second line cutter who tried to follow the crowd into the stores.  Bravo to the staff at Joe Fresh for handling everything with great professionalism and courtesy.

As the doors finally opened I entered the store to all of the smiling employees decked out in bright polo shirts applauding as I collected my giftcard and started shopping the brightly lit glass cube of a retail space with shiny white fixtures and brightly colored merch.  The retail space was split into 2 floors with change rooms and cashiers on each floor.  I spotted a glass elevator bringing up racks of colorful stock to replace items flying off the shelves.  

Shop: Aritzia Soho

The Canadian retail chain Aritzia opened it’s doors a couple weeks ago and I finally had a chance to check it out in person.  In case you aren’t familiar, Aritzia started in Vancouver in 1984 and slowly spread  to markets  in Vancouver, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, Portland, Seattle and now New York.  The company thanks to it’s high quality clothing, great fit, trend right pieces at a relatively reasonable price have earned the boutique quite the following.

When I was living in Toronto, I would shop Aritzia often for merch ranging from perfect basics to work ready adorable wool pants and jackets.  Also, come winter, as far as the eye could see Toronto ladies have embraced the ubiquitous winter coat with faux fur lining as the puffer alternative.  I’m actually guilty of once upon a time owning this myself.  The house brands (including TNA, Talulah, T Babaton, Wilfred, Wilfred Free, Le Fou) encompass just about any need that the modern woman might need plus they curate a great selection of must have items from select designers.  Currently however the Soho store still is only carrying the house labels but that will soon change.

As for the store itself it is large and spacious (10 000 square feet!) with 2 levels of well placed merchandise to shop.  The feel of the store is very zen and airy with it’s textural stone walls, wood fixtures, crystals, touches of greenery and soft lighting.  There are screens displaying merchandise from a fashion show playing on some of the walls. The Manhattan flagship also includes an old bank vault that was discovered during renovations, carefully preserved, then repurposed as a fitting room.

While the main floor was dedicated to sporty, casual and slightly trendier clothes (including some uber cute brocade shorts) the second floor was a world of sophisticated calm neutral pieces that would look great in the office.  Great little silk blouses and dresses, a gorgeous little Battenberg lace tank, great little trench coats and so much more.

There is room to breathe, space to shop and most importantly great merch to check out.  I will definitely be adding the Aritzia to my list of stores that I visit on my Soho Shopping trips.

Aritzia Soho, 524 Broadway (at Spring St) 212-965-2188.

Mon-Sat: 10am-9:30pm, Sun: 11am-8:30pm