Forever 21 and H&M to open in South Africa!

Most of us have heard that Swedish cheap’n’chic fashion giant H&M will open its first store in South Africa in 2015, its first foray into sub-Saharan Africa, the company announced on Thursday

H&M said it had signed a contract for a store in Johannesburg, but it was also looking into opening in Cape Town as well and therefore it could not say which store would open first.

“We’re still in the early stages... but there will be several stores,” H&M spokeswoman Camilla Emilsson-Falk told AFP.

The company said it saw great potential in the South African market but refused to disclose any details.

“We see great potential for further expansion in this region. We look forward to bringing fashion and quality at the best price to the customers in South Africa,” H&M’s chief executive Karl-Johan Persson said in a statement.

The first store that opens will be a full concept flagship store, the company said.

H&M’s only other stores on the African continent are in Egypt and Morocco.

The company said it had opened some 100 new stores in the second quarter, bringing its total number of outlets world-wide to 2908.

Using an average annual exchange rate, H&M remained the biggest clothing company in 2012 with its sales edging out Spanish competitor Inditex, which owns Zara.

But H&M risks losing its number one spot this year to Inditex, which has twice as many stores, is growing faster and is more profitable. 

More recent news is that Forever 21 will launch its first store in South Africa in Cape Town's Canal Walk this year.

If you’ve ever shopped up a storm in the States you’ll know exactly who I'm talking about when I say Forever 21. The affordable US fashion brand is the apex of current trends at budget prices – think the American equivalent of Mr Price.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Forever 21 began as Fashion 21 – a 900sq ft. corner shop founded during the mid-eighties. Sales multiplied by tenfold after just one year and new stores began popping up all over the show, with the brand eventually changing its name to Forever 21. Now it’s got an international footprint in ten Latin American countries, 19 Asian countries and five European countries.

‘We are excited to enter the South African market and have plans for some exceptional stores,’ says Jatin Malhotra, Forever 21’s Director of Real Estate and Business Development. ‘Canal Walk ticks all the right boxes for us in terms of the kind of mall that we feel would be the best venue for our brand. We are happy to commence this relationship with a key landlord

Exciting times for South African shoppers - Zara, Cotton On and Topshop all in the last couple of years!