H&M adds final touches to its first street store in Bucharest's Old Town just before November opening

Swedish retailer H&M will open its first street store in Romania on November 7, in the Old Town, where the final touches to the shop are currently being added. With 27 stores running in Romanian shopping centres, H&M will also bring its first H&M Home store in Romania with the new opening in Bucharest's old centre. Located on the Lipscani street, the store and H&M's new headquarters cover an entire building of some 1,800 sqm, built over the last 15 months on the 3,300 sqm land plot. The company which developed the building is controlled by businessman Alin Cocos, according to Romanian media. He is the son of businessman Dorin Cocos, who owns the carparking business Dalli, and who is the former husband of Romanian politician Elena Udrea. Fashion retailer H&M has seen a 41 percent increase in sales in Romania, its nine-month results show. With six new stores opening in the country, H&M saw sales of about EUR 71.5 million between December 2012 and August 2013, up from about EUR 50.8 million for the same period the year before. H&M is already advertising its upcoming location in an unconventional way, with two transparent cubes showcasing its home deco products at Universitate Square, as well as with home deco products at various restaurants in the Old Town. H&M's opening on the Lipscani Street is scheduled for November 7 at 14,00 hours, and the first shoppers will get shopping vouchers of RON 50, and those who buy over RON 100 will get a RON 30 voucher. Corina Chirileasa, corina@romania-insider.com (photos: Corina Chirileasa for Romania-Insider.com)