H&M’s Arket to open first store in Stockholm

arketSwedish fashion retailer H&M’s new brand, Arket, will launch its first hometown store in Sweden at Biblioteksgatan 9, in the heart of Stockholm’s shopping district Bibliotekstan.

The store in Sweden will open in the spring of 2018, following the launch this autumn on Regent Street in London. The London store will be followed by stores in Brussels, Copenhagen and Munich. The brand will be present online in Sweden as well as 17 other countries from the first day of the brand’s launch in London.

The brand’s new shop will be housed in a building that dates from 1897 with distinctive features of Sweden’s ‘National Romantic’ style and an interesting history. It accommodated the original shop of Svenska Hem (Swedish Home), the women’s food cooperative founded in 1905 by the famous Swedish educator and women’s suffragist Anna Whitlock with members that included the Nobel-prize-winning author Selma Lagerlöf, singer-actress Harriet Bosse (wife of the playwright August Strindberg) and the early Swedish feminist Ellen Key.

“We are very fortunate to be opening our first hometown store on Biblioteksgatan, where we’ll find ourselves in great company,” said Lars Axelsson, managing director.

According to the fast-fashion giant, the new brand will be a modern-day market, offering essential products for men, women, children and the home.

Ulrika Bernhardtz, creative director, had said they picked the name Arket,which means ‘sheet of paper’ in Swedish, because it relates to both their origin in the Nordic tradition of functional, long-lasting design and symbolises the blank sheet, “the sense of optimism and possibility they felt when creating the new brand.”

The range includes men’s, women’s and children’s ready-to-wear and accessories collections and a homeware department – all part of the Arket range.

Stores will also include a cafe where location permits, the retailer stated. The cafe will be based on the New Nordic Kitchen and its vision of quality ingredients and healthy living.

Access exclusive analysis, locked news and reports with Inside Retail Weekly. Subscribe today and get our premium print publication delivered to your door every week.

 

You have 7 articles remaining. Unlock 15 free articles a month, it’s free.