Swedish fashion retailer, Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), will open its first Australian Capital Territory store at Canberra Centre later this year.

The retailer will also open two other stores later this year at Stockland Townsville and Stockland Rockhampton in Queensland.

“We look forward to continuing our urban expansion and cannot wait to see the response on opening day,” Hans Andersson, Australian country manager for H&M, said earlier.

H&M now has 21 stores open across Australia and over 5,000 stores in 66 countries worldwide.

The fast-fashion retailer has launched a new brand earlier this year, Arket, which recently opened its online store and first physical store on Regent Street in London last month.

According to H&M, the new brand is a modern-day market, offering essential products for men, women, children and the home. The brand’s online store caters to 18 European markets.

The Regent Street store occupies two storeys of a former department-store corner building, with womenswear and the children’s collection located on the second floor, and menswear, homeware and an Arket cafe on the ground floor. The vegetarian cafe menu is based on the New Nordic Food Manifesto and blends traditional Scandinavian flavours with modern and global influences.

“We are incredibly happy to introduce Arket and its collections, and welcome our first customers into our stores on Regent Street and online at arket.com,” said Lars Axelsson, managing director.

“Our team has been working towards this day for over two years, and we are excited to finally share the results.”

The new brand has accumulated over 28,000 followers on Instagram and 5000 on Facebook, ahead of the launch.

Austrian luxury jewellery retailer, Swarovski and skin care brand, Jurlique, also recently opened at the revamped Canberra Centre.

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