Photo courtesy of H&M
H&M Spring collection 2018
Zara is finally getting a neighbor at Mall of America, which could help to draw shoppers to the largely empty north wing, although it is unlikely to dazzle them. In the vein of keep your enemies close, H&M plans to open a larger store right across the hall from Zara. Like its fast fashion rival, the new H&M will span two levels and more than 40,000 square feet—nearly double the size of its current space on the west side of the mall.
There was a time when an H&M store opening would prompt a crowd of shoppers to line up hours in advance. But H&M now has 525 locations across the U.S., including eight in the Twin Cities. And it has, frankly, struggled to stay cool in a crowded field of fast fashion superstores including Forever 21, which also has a massive two-level store at MOA, and the local newbie, Zara, which made a big splash when it opened its first (and only) Twin Cities store at MOA in 2016.
But a year and a half later, it's hard not to question the magnetic power of Zara. The world's largest retailer has no immediate neighbors in MOA's expansion wing, which is anchored by JW Marriott, an office tower, and a third-level food court that draws lines for popular, Twin Cities-exclusive food vendors including Shake Shack and Carlo’s Bakery. But Zara is all alone on the second floor, and Anthropologie and TOMS are a couple of the only first-floor stores. The promise of luxury retail hasn’t materialized. Mall of America has said high-end shopping will be the focus of the next phase of development. The opening of another fast fashion retailer in the north wing punctuates that reality.
The new H&M will feature expanded children’s and men’s departments as well as women’s trend and men’s modern classic. H&M continues to emphasize a mission of sustainability with its Conscious collection featuring designs made of recycled material. In 2017, H&M says it diverted over 2.5 million pounds of unwanted textiles from landfills.
But H&M’s most recent quarterly report revealed a huge buildup of overstock—$4.3 billion in unsold inventory. Foot traffic has also fallen in the past year, the New York Times recently reported.
Mall of America must be banking on strength in numbers, and the Minnesotan penchant for a deal.
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