FOREIGN fashion retailers are making big moves in the United States this year.
Several, including brands like Primark and Mango, are now in the middle of expansion plans.
GettyPrimark is updating its US store count this year (stock image)[/caption] GettyMango also has around 40 locations stateside (stock image)[/caption]Primark, the Ireland-based discount fashion retailer, has already been here since 2015 after opening its first store in Boston.
As of this month, there are 32 Primark locations nationwide, and it isn’t stopping there.
The company has already laid out plans to nearly double that store count by the end of 2026.
Leases have already been signed by Primark in various areas, including El Paso, Texas; Memphis, Tennessee; Hyattsville, Maryland; and Miami, Florida.
While Primark is beloved and has had great success in Ireland, where it’s known as Penneys, and the UK, the United States consumer base is where the company says it needs to go next.
Kevin Tulip, president of Primark’s US operations, explained that the brand had hit a “maturity point” in Europe while speaking with CNBC.
“The US is the number one consumer market,” Tulip explained.
“So to be here and to get it right means a lot. But you really need to get it right.”
GROWING AND GROWING
Mango is similarly a fast-fashion retailer, but it was founded in Spain before moving to the United Kingdom in 1998, and the United States got its first store in 2006 in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood.
It currently has over 40 stores across the nation, and near the end of last year, Mango CEO Toni Ruiz also confirmed it would more than double its store count by the time December ended.
At least 20 more Mango stores are planned for this year as it grabs its piece of the American market.
That means by the end of 2025, consumers could see 102 locations.
The new Mango stores are expected to be located in the Northeast and Sun Belt, according to what Ruiz told CNBC.
Competitors like Aritzia, Uniqlo, and others are doing the same, with Uniqlo specifically catching fire and planning for about 200 North American locations by 2027.
US braces for '45,000 store closures'
Some 45,000 bricks-and-mortar stores could close in the next five years, experts have warned.
Several major retailers have announced store closures or gone out of business altogether in recent years.
In 2023, chains such as Foot Locker announced plans to close up to 400 outlets by 2026.
While, other well-known retailers like Tuesday Morning and Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams filed for bankruptcy in 2023.
Bed Bath & Beyond has closed all of its brick-and-mortar stores and is now an online-only retailer.
The most affected retailers have been clothing, consumer electronics, sporting goods, hobby, book, music, and home furnishing stores since the start of 2019.
UBS has predicted the total number of retail stores will drop by 45k from 958k to 913k.
Despite that, the report says that certain stores should thrive while others decline.
It said retailers such as Walmart, Costco, Home Depot, and Target, could be among the winners.
PROFIT POTENTIAL
It’s an unsurprising move to retail experts like Monique Pollard.
Pollard noted multiple reasons why foreign brands are expanding quickly in the United States, but mostly because it has “a fragmented market of apparel retailers, and its consumer spending has proven more resilient than in some other inflation-weary markets like the United Kingdom,” per her chat with the outlet.
Additionally, the social media presence in the US has made it easier than ever for brands to have trends catch on via influencers through TikTok or Instagram.
Previously unreachable areas are accessible because of the platforms, according to John Mercer, head of global research for Coresight Research.
“There are fewer differences to kind of iron out between markets,” Mercer emphasized.
Data collected by Forrester, a research advisory group, found recently that around 63% of American consumers under 25 and 57% between 25 and 34 find new products through social media on a weekly basis.
And if a specific product goes viral, it can send sales skyrocketing.
Not to mention that a fair amount of larger US-based retailers are filing for bankruptcy and conducting mass closures.
Macy’s is in the middle of shuttering 150 locations as part of a new plan to downsize and shift focus.
Specialty brands like Bed Bath & Beyond and BuyBuy Baby are also gone after bankruptcy woes, but a few could be coming back soon thanks to a partnership with Kirkland’s Home.
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