Elmhurst, NY – One of the latest additions to Queen’s Center is a store that many local mall fans don’t recognize.
With the famous mall staples Macy’s, American Eagle and Bath & Bodyworksthere is a Primark at the shopping center. The Ireland-based discount retailer sells clothing, shoes, wallets and more, and opened the door there in December.
More and more malls and shopping centres are making international impacts across the country. Retailers like Primark, Spain-based Mango, Canadian retailer Alizia and Japan-based Uniqlo are adding new stores in areas that are not outside coastal cities such as New York and Los Angeles.
Primark Store is located at Queen’s Center Mall in Elmhurst, New York.
Melissa Repko | CNBC
Around 19,000 stores opened in the US between 2018 and 2023, with about 28% of which were foreign-owned retailers, according to the latest available figures. GlobalData, market research company.
And over the past few years, retailers based in Europe and elsewhere around the world have announced ambitious US expansion plans.
With 29 U.S. stores, Primark is expected to reach 60 locations across the country by the end of next year. It has signed leases for new stores in diverse regions of the United States, including El Paso, Texas. Memphis, Tennessee. Hyattville, Maryland. Miami, Florida.
The retailer known as Pennys in Ireland has become famous in Ireland, the UK and other parts of Europe since its first store opened in Dublin in 1969.
“The US is the number one consumer market,” he said. “So staying here and getting it right means a lot. But you really need to get it right.”
Why is the US a retail expansion target?
Primark isn’t the only one with great ambitions for the US
Barcelona-based retailer Mango announced There was a $70 million expansion last fall. This includes plans for 42 new US storefronts in 2024, 20 more locations this year, and a new logistics center outside of Los Angeles. These locations will be scattered across the Sunbelt and parts of the Northeast, Mango CEO Tony Lewis told CNBC in an interview.
Vancouver-based Aritzia’s US footprint is now about the same size as its store in its home country. Last year, retailers opened 14 new stores in North America, including three expansions or relocations. This brought the number of stores to 61 in the US as it added boutiques to major cities such as Chicago and Miami, as well as small markets such as Plano, Texas and Sacramento, California.
Shoppers will wait to enter Alizzia, a newly opened women’s clothing store on Michigan Avenue on November 29, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois.
Kamil Kruzachinsky | Getty Images
More stores are coming this year, including Scottsdale, Arizona and Murray, Utah.
Monique Pollard, a London-based retail analyst in City, says the US has many elements that European and other regions brands are looking for. She said there is a fragmented market for apparel retailers in the US, and its consumer spending has proven to be more resilient than other inflation-bearing markets like the UK.
Furthermore, fashion trends are moving faster as they influence Instagram and Tiktok influencers and consumers themselves travel. This could make new brands more likely to invade unfamiliar areas.
“There is less difference in iron types between markets,” he said, adding that foreign brands are “a better opportunity” than they have in the past decades.
Social media has allowed brands with even small footprints of physical stores to discover social media products or brands at least weekly, about 63% of consumers under the age of 25 and 34, and about 63% of consumers under the age of 25 and 57%, at least every week.
Shoppers will step into Uniqlo at Westfield UTC Shopping Center on January 31, 2025 in San Diego, California.
Kevin Carter | Getty Images
Virus trends have driven sales of some international newcomers through products such as Alizzia’s Super Puff Winter Coat and Uniqlo’s Shoulder Bags. The companies praised social media for promoting the popularity of these items two years ago.
The shrinking of department stores and retail bankruptcy has filled the market share and empty mall stores for foreign retailers to grab. Macy’s has closed about 150 locations of the same name across the United States. Many specialized baby stores have been closed due to bankruptcy, including Buy Baby and Babies R Us, which purchased purchases owned by Bed Bath & Beyond.
Primark’s Tulips said children’s clothing is one of the company’s strong categories in the US, and that the company has noticed higher demand and less competition.
And some of those stores have replaced retailers like JC Penny, who have closed several locations, and retailers like out-of-businesses such as Bed Bath & Beyond.
However, Mango, Alizzia, Uniqlo and Zara are all early innings of US growth, with fewer than 100 stores nationwide. This means that, at least for now, US companies make up a small portion of the many global businesses of these companies, as well as a small portion of the country’s apparel market.
The US accounts for approximately 5% of Primark’s global sales. Tulip said it expects that percentage will grow and that growth is already beginning to affect retailers’ product range. One change is making more leisure wear to suit American shoppers’ preferences, he said.
Mango flagship store located on Fifth Avenue in New York City.
Courtesy: Mango
Risks of expansion
But in new markets, success is not a guarantee. Also, the association may disappear.
Sweden-based H&M paved the roads of other foreign retailers about 25 years ago when it opened the doors to its first US store on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Since then, retailers have become a well-known mall name that is strongly associated with a fast fashion approach, which involves responding quickly to trends and selling cheaper versions of hot items.
However, these days, Swedish retailers Sales are disappointed as they face stiffer competition in the US and abroad from Inditex-owned low-cost Chinese online retailers Shein and Spanise Rival Zara.
On March 20, 2023, shoppers carry foot lockers and Zara shopping bags while walking through the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, California.
Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images
The fast retailer of Uniqlo owners gained traction in the US after being pushed into the country earlier. Japanese retailer reported a loss of about $71.5 million in 2016 From US retirement assets and closed stores
The company is now back in growth mode. Reaching 200 stores In North America by 2027.
For Primark, the US also has a learning curve, Tulip said. The retailer entered the US market in 2015 by opening a store in Boston. He then said he moved carefully to try and understand American shoppers before opening more places northeast and heading further into the southern states.
At many of the openings at Primark’s store, enthusiastic shoppers appeared early and waited in line before the door opened, he said.
But Irish retailers also failed, he said. Primark has many licensed products such as Disney and Marvel themed clothing and t-shirts with logos from popular NBA and NFL teams.
But when it expanded to the US, the sporting goods didn’t land the way they wanted.
“At first, I was sure everyone in Europe loved the Dallas Cowboy. [U.S.] “But everyone will definitely be wild for that,” he said.
He said Primark pivoted to carry only relevant local sports teams, including having Buffalo Bills items in upstate New York.
Primark also has unique quirks that can become weaknesses. It is only sold in physical stores. There may be a shortage of e-commerce businesses in the US, and these sites sell a number of low-cost wardrobe staples, making them vulnerable to retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Shein, and more.
Over 50% of Primark’s clothing is the basics of everyday life, such as underwear, T-shirts, and socks. Company website.
Some brands took another tack as newcomers tried to gain traction with American shoppers. Zara’s netstop accounts in the US have relied on just 100 shy and shy for the past five years.
Zara’s parent company has added even more space to its stores instead of more locations. In 2013, the average store size for Inditex retailers, including Zara, was around 6,000 square feet. According to Citi analysis, based on data from company submissions, 10 years later they will be shot to an average of around 8,600 square feet.
Growing international retailers have only a small footprint in the US, but they have already proven influential as they offer shoppers fresh choices and new competition for US retailers.
One of Primark’s next expanded moves shows that the company is not subtle about its ambitions. The store is scheduled to open in New York City’s Herald Square. It’s a walk less than two blocks from Macy’s iconic flagship store.
On a recent day at Queen’s Centre, a few miles away, prospective customers browsed the aisles of the Primark Store, while some left full purchases.
Janet Torres, a retired Brooklyn resident, has heard about the brand from her son. She said the company’s low prices convinced her to shop there. She bought a T-shirt, underwear and a winter hat.
She said she liked it These prices should not be at the expense of store experience. Primark has brighter lights and cleaner locations than off-price retailers like the Burlington store.
Another Queens retired, Bruce Wollinski, happened to be the first trip to Primark. He went to the mall with Macy’s credit card, a 25% off coupon and a need for a new shoe.
He didn’t reach the department store. Instead, he stepped into the Primark and headed out with $22 lace-up navy blue and brown sneakers.
– Gabrielle Fonrouge of CNBC contributed to this report.
