PARIS — Forever 21 has joined the growing list of U.S. brands hoping to conquer the French market, with the opening of its first store at the Vélizy 2 shopping mall southwest of Paris.
Forever 21 executive vice president Larry Meyer said the Los Angeles-based brand planned to open an additional three stores in France over the next 14 months.
“We grew up in malls. For an American retailer to go to a mall is going home,” he said of the choice of Vélizy 2, which draws some 15 million visitors per year and is also home to Hollister and Apple stores.
Forever 21 celebrated the opening of the 21,500-feet unit with a personal appearance by R&B singer Amel Bent, and handed out 50 shopping vouchers worth 10 euros, or roughly $13 at current exchange, at 21 minutes past every hour.
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The second unit is due to open in September at the Rosny 2 mall east of Paris, according to Christophe Cuvillier, chief operating officer of Unibail-Rodamco. The commercial real estate firm last year opened a Forever 21 in its La Maquinista mall in Barcelona.
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The fashion retailer hopes to eventually add stores in central Paris, where U.S. brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch and Banana Republic opened their first units last year.
“We like flagships, we feel it’s important for us to establish a flagship, but finding those locations takes more effort. It’s just harder to come by,” Meyer said.
Forever 21 has a network of 500 stores worldwide and is launching around 80 projects this year, including store openings, renovations and combining existing concepts. This should result in a net increase of 20 to 30 units in the total number of stores by year-end, Meyer said.
In 2013, it plans to open shops in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Munich, Germany.