Forever 21 will open its first Sydney CBD store in Pitt St Mall next year, with the flagship expected to be one of the brand’s biggest in the world.
The US-based fast fashion giant has signed a 10 year lease for a 2741sqm site at the Sydney Arcade in Investa’s 400 George St building.
It will be the first Sydney CBD store for the brand following a five year search for a location.
The space will span three interconnected levels from lower ground to level one, with prime street level frontage to Pitt St Mall.
Space previously occupied by Adidas, Glue, and Billabong will be amalgamated with an additional 1200sqm of lower ground storage space activated for retail use.
Escalators will be installed to provide connectivity from the ground floor entrance off Pitt St Mall to the lower ground and level one.
Forever 21 offers competitively priced fast fashion apparel and accessories for women, men, teens, and kids, and operates more than 480 stores globally.
The company has been reviewing the Australian market for more than five years with its first Australian store to open in Brisbane in November 2014 and in Sydney’s Macquarie Centre, North Ryde in December 2014.
Alex Alamsyah, senior director retail Leasing, Knight Frank, who acted for Investa said: “Australia is seen as an increasingly important retail market in the Asia Pacific region which until recently has not had the quality and breadth of retail choice as other major retail centres such as New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
“Pitt St Mall is the most tightly held retail market in Australia and this transaction further demonstrates the appeal of the precinct to international retailers such as Zara, Uniqlo, Sephora, H&M, and now Forever 21, who are entering the market and securing the highest profile space available.”
He added Forever 21 is “going to correct the prices in Australia, not just for Australian brands but potentially for other international fast fashion retailers as well”.
“If the average price point for Zara say around $90; Topshop say $80; H&M say $65 then Forever 21 is $25; the wait is finally over, it’s showtime on Pitt St Mall,” Alamsyah told Inside Retail.
The announcement comes one day after H&M confirmed it would open two stores in Sydney.
The first will open at AMP Capital’s revamped Macquarie Centre next month followed by a second site in Pitt St Mall in mid 2015.
Following the Forever 21 transaction, Ben Sherman has relocated from the Sydney Arcade to The Galleries on George St, with the vacated site now undergoing fitout for Ugg Australia.
Once completed in October 2014, it will be the largest Ugg Australia flagship store in the world.
