Alexandros Doukas,
CEO of the Forever 21 international
fashion franchise based in Los Angeles, announced today
the opening later this year of the first Forever 21 store in
Romania. The store will occupy 1600 sqm in the ParkLake
Shopping Mall, which now is being constructed in Bucharest, and will sell
clothes and accessories for men, women and children.
"Forever 21 firmly believes that Romania has a high potential.
We are glad that we can announce the opening of our first store
in Bucharest, in a remarkable project such as ParkLake," Mr. Doukas
said.
The fashion retailer operates more than 700 stores worldwide,
with sales amounting to USD $4.4-billion in 2015, according
to today's issue of the ROMANIA-INSIDER online English-language
newspaper..
Located in Bucharest's Sector 3, near Alexandru Ioan Cuza
Park, the ParkLake Mall project represents an investment of
nearly USD $200-million. It will have a gross leasable area of
70,000 sqm, and will include more than 200 shops, 23 restaurants,
and a multiplex cinema.
Past media reports in our San Francisco region have promoted
the impression that Romania still is a very "poor" country, based
apparently on some economic statistics that fail to take account of
unique aspects in Romania's history and culture. My own
visits to Bucharest first made me begin questioning those media
portrayals when I saw luxury shops, upscale restaurants, 5-star
hotels -- and lots of young people on the metro who wore designer-label
clothes. And now we can see that established investors
likewise are waking up to retail opportunities in one of Europe's
fastest-growing economies.
ALLAN CRUSE
26 JAN 2016