As plus size fashion becomes more in demand, retailers continue to expand to accommodate that demand. With the average size of the American woman being a size 14, more women being vocal about what they want in fashion and more dollars being spent by these customers, plus size clothing retailers are making moves to take advantage of this under-served market that is profitable.
Marka, a retail start-up based in Dubai, has just signed an agreement to bring City Chic to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) area. The fashion-forward Australian brand will be available to plus size fashionistas in locations across the UAE and the wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, courtesy of Marka‘s dedicated fashion division, Marka Fashion. The GCC region includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the Sultanate of Oman.
This is exciting news for plus size women in those areas who have limited access to fashion in their size, especially being able to shop in-store. Marka will launch three City Chic stores in the UAE before the end of 2015, with the first opening in Dubai at Festival City Mall. Kudos to City Chic, who continues to expand all over the world with stores already in place in Australia, New Zealand, South America and in the US. [Yahoo News]
If you live in Bradenton, Florida and gripe at the fact that there are not enough plus size clothing stores locally, one retailer has heard your call and has opened a store in the area. Catherines, who offers up to sizes 6X and 34, has opened their first store in Bradenton on Friday, September 4th, just in time for customers to take advantage of Labor Day sales. The new store is located at 7369 52nd Place E., in the shopping center off of State Road 70, near Interstate 75. [Bradenton Herald]
European discount clothing retailer Primark is making its way across the pond and opening its first store in Boston, MA this week. The fashion chain, with almost 300 stores across Britain and Europe, is hoping to be successful in the US, taking over the space that once housed Filene’s Basement in the iconic Burnham building.
According to The Guardian, the store will be stocked with “clothing from its European suppliers, who will deliver to a new warehouse in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The stores will be replenished with new stock every day and largely sell a collection of Primark’s existing designs which the retailer believes will most appeal to American shoppers, although small number of products have been specifically designed for the US.”
The grand opening will take place on Thursday, September 10th with the 70,000 sq ft store being the first of 7 planned to launch across the US. [Boston Irish Reporter]
Versa Capital Management, who owns Avenue, is now seeking a new owner for the plus size retailer. The buyout firm bought Avenue out of bankruptcy three years ago and turned around business for the once-struggling retailer.
This move to sell them is being speculated as a move from Versa to capitalize on the plus size market, which continues to grow. We sure hope so. While Avenue has not been offering much of a trendy-fashion offering in comparison to its competitors, it is one of the few plus size retailers that offers above a size 24 so we really don’t want to see them go. [Bloomberg]
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