American fashion retailer Gap is to open a Banana Republic flagship store in Paris next December. Paris hopes to follow Istanbul, Milan and London (and Bath), where the brand already had successful store openings.
Banana Republic, aiming to bring “affordable luxury” in the ready-to-wear segment, announced it will open its 1482 m² store on two floors in a building on the Champs Elysées avenue that is currently being renovated. The new store will combine traditional and contemporary elements and offer “an impeccable service on a must visit location”, says Stephen Sunnucks, president of Gap’s International branch.
Fourth step in the conquest of continental Europe
In the Parisian store, Gap will present the Banana Republic collections for him and her, personal care products and the Monogram collection, said to represent “the very best of Banana Republic”. The new store is the fourth step in Banana Republic’s conquest of continental Europe, after the opening of three stores in the European part of Istanbul in 2008, a Milan store last year and the opening of their Europe-wide webshop, serving customers in 21 European countries.
Worldwide, there are already over 600 Banana Republic stores in the US, the UK, Canada, Italy, Turkey and ten Asian countries, with France set to join the list in December. The brand was founded in 1978 in California and acquired by Gap only five years later.
