If you’ve been to the USA, or even watched enough American movies, you will have inevitably heard of the retailer Forever 21. Not to be confused with the Australian brand, Forever New, this is the American equivalent of Mr Price, I’d say.
Well, Forever 21 will be opening its first store on the African continent on the 13th of September 2014. The 1,400-square metre store will open in retail developer Hyprop Investments’ Canal Walk shopping centre in Cape Town.
“We are pleased to welcome another leading international brand to our portfolio, which will further underpin Canal Walk as the premier, quality fashion destination in the Western Cape,” says Hyprop CEO Pieter Prinsloo.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, privately-held Forever 21 is primarily a youth brand known for offering the latest international runway trends at the greatest value, boasting stores across the US with an international footprint in ten Latin American countries, 19 Asian countries and five European countries.
“We are excited to enter the South African market and have plans for some exceptional stores for this market,” says Jatin Malhotra, Forever 21’s Director of Real Estate and Business Development. “Canal Walk ticks all the right boxes for us in terms of the kind of mall that we feel would be the best venue for our brand. We are happy to commence this relationship with a key landlord.”
Prinsloo adds: “Establishing a relationship with leading international fashion brands such as Forever 21 aligns with our strategy of driving a vibrant tenant mix and offering shoppers access to popular leading labels.”
Canal Walk (affectionately known as “Kanala Walk” to the Muslim locals – Kanala means please in Malay) is also home to UK-based chic brand Top Shop. Inditex’s fast fashion brand Zara has a store in Johannesburg. Swedish fashion giant H&M is also slated to open a Johannesburg store sometime in 2015.
Forever 21, with estimate sales of about $4 billion, operates over 480 stores under the Forever 21, XXI Forever, For Love 21, Heritage 1981, and Reference brands.
Mzansi Life & Style by Mishkah Roman-Cassiem 