H&M's New Luxury Label to Launch First in Europe

H&M's new higher-priced line "& Other Stories" is set to launch in 7 European cities - Barcelona, Berlin, Copenhagen, London, Milan, Paris and Stockholm and online in 10 cities. Despite the mostly negative reaction over the name "& Other Stories", I'm super excited to see the collection and hope they make it available in the U.S. soon as well.  Unfortunately, there hasn't been any previews yet either.

H&M's plan with "& Other Stories" was to diversify and attract a new clientele.  The price point (and I would expect quality) starts where H&M ends.  Perhaps it will be more like a Zara? 


Lately, H&M has fallen behind Zara's Inditex SA in the market for price-conscious fashionistas.  It probably hasn't helped that H&M has no online sales presence when Zara started making its clothes available online late last year.  I can only imagine that this has helped Zara reach many America cities where it doesn't have a physical presence.  Even with numerous stores in NYC, I frequently shop at Zara's website for the convenience and free shipping ofcourse!

We will have to wait and see if & Other Stories will help H&M close the gap against its competitors.

Samuel Fernström, head of & Other Stories stated, "All of us at & Other Stories are thrilled to open our first stores in some of the major European cities and we are looking forward to offering our collections to an even broader audience through stories.com."

"The range will be jointly created by ateliers based in Paris and Stockholm, with the aim of producing "diversified fashion collections  with great attention to detail and quality at an affordable price".

In the meantime, the only image, above, is from a mood board release from H&M to show the inspiration of & Other Stories.


Read More:
WSJ: H&M Adds a Higher-Priced Store Chain 
BusinessWeek: H&M Plans Simultaneous Web Release for ‘& Other Stories’