retail profile: mango, a spanish star

A Spanish star is born on New York’s skyline. Gaelle Devins investigates the first Mango store to hit the capital.

Hunting for decent retail space in the Big Apple can take years. Barcelona-based apparel chain Mango, knows that for sure. Finding the perfect gem to open its first flagship store in NYC was a laborious task. However, after some intense search and lots of patience, Mango just signed a lease for an 8,000-square-foot space at 561 Broadway in SoHo.

Mango, a company which targets young demanding cosmopolitan women, operates more than 850 stores in 81 countries, located on five continents. Last year, Mango expanded its presence to North America, opening fives stores in Canada. Pursuing a penetration strategy, the company hopes to open 25 new stores by 2010 in Canada alone. World domination must also be part of their strategy.

mango’s global attack
In the U.S. the first Mango store was launched in Santa Monica, California in November. To continue growing its business, stores are planned for Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Costa Mesa, California, San Juan, Puerto Rico; McLean, Va., and Bellvue, Washington. The company has said that by the end of the decade, it wants to have 200 to 250 stores in the U.S.

Entering the New York scene is an interesting challenge that Mango is visibly ready to face. A prestigious multinational company dedicated to the design, manufacture and marketing of clothing garments and accessories for women; Mango seems to have what it takes to compete with well-established brands such as Zara – the Spanish fast-fashion and H&M – the Swedish cheap ‘n’ chic.

will they win the battle?
An established fashion brand in Europe, Mango was founded in Barcelona in 1984. With a little bit more than 20 years of successful retailing experience, it will be exciting to see if the company proves once again that its magical approach of the retailing “It is the creation of a concept” is still appropriate.

Is it going to be enough for Mango to bring its know-how along with a fresh zest of Spanish exoticism in the New York scene? We are soon to find out.

Words Gaelle Devins

Related links:
fibre2fashion.com