zara, h&m loom on horizon, ready to devastate

Zara gets ready to 'devastate' Australian retail
15/07/2010 11:30:00 AM
Zara gets set to open its first Australian stores.
By ninemsn Money staff

Australian lovers of overseas fashion will soon be able to drop more of their cash on local shopping trips as international brand Zara gets set to open its first Australian stores.

Pablo Isla, the chief executive of Inditex, which owns the fast-fashion brand, told the company's annual general meeting in Spain the company will open stores in Australia and South Africa in 2011, the Australian reported.

Peter Lew, the son of retail mogul Solomon Lew, has nabbed the Australian licence for Zara and seems to be following in his father's footsteps with this latest venture.

Zara releases about 10,000 new clothing lines throughout the year and has been described by Louis Vuitton fashion director Daniel Piette as "possibly the most innovative and devastating retailer in the world".

The chain has nearly 1900 stores in more than 60 countries and was a huge success when it opened a store in China last year.

"It just murdered everything around it," Michael Lloyd, the publisher of Shopping Centre News told the Australian.

Zara joins an impressive roll-call of overseas retail outlets setting up shop in Australia.

Gap, the iconic US chain store that specialises in denim, will open its first Australian store at Melbourne's Chadstone Shopping Centre in August, with Sydney to get its own store in October.

Another European chain, Hennes & Mauritz (also known as H&M), is reportedly scouting the Australian market as it looks to push into the Southern Hemisphere.

This new might leave local chains such as Witchery and Country Road shaking in their boots, the Australian reported.

"They're going to notice that the turnover Zara gets here used to be theirs," Lloyd said.