Designer Romanita Iovan relaunches Escada brand in Romania, with store in JW Marriott's shopping gallery

Romanian fashion designer Romanita Iovan has invested EUR 200,000 in opening an Escada store in The Grand Avenue, the retail gallery within the compound that hosts the JW Marriott hotel in Bucharest. The 81-sqm store joins other fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton, Alfred Dunhill, Rolex, Davidoff, Ermanno Scervino, Stefanel, among others. Romanita Iovan opened the store under franchise.

In Romania, the Escada brand was re-launched after a five-year absence. Iovan initially brought the brand to Romania under franchise in 2002 with a store on Calea Victoriei, but the business failed. Escada was founded in Munich in 1976 by Margaretha and Wolfgang Ley, who bet on a full-blooded Irish racing horse of the same name and won. The group now has 1,100 stores in 80 countries worldwide. Escada was taken over in 2009 by Megha Mittal, the daughter-in-law of steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal. The Grand Avenue in Bucharest covers some 5,000 sqm of fashion stores and retail spaces within the multifunctional compound The Grand. The Grand covers 85,000 sqm, including the 402-roomed JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel, The Grand Avenue shopping area, The Grand Offices, a World Class health club and the Grand Parking. editor@romania-insider.com