FLAGSHIP FLASH: & Other Stories Finds A Broadway Address For Its First U.S. Store

Though it announced the American arrival of COS first, it looks like H&M is giving its other burgeoning chain & Other Stories the premium location when it opens this Fall. The chain will be taking 10,915 square feet at 575 Broadway (pictured above with a logo we added ourselves), the historic building at the corner of Prince Street that also houses Prada. If we are not mistaken, it was also the site of Club Monaco's, temporary women's store last year. The space is on two levels, and stretches all the way to the back of the building, which could potentially allow for a second entrance at 142 Mercer Street like the one Prada has.

While the upcoming COS store at 129 Spring Street will be in a highly desirable location, it is the high profile frontage on Broadway that appears to put & Other Stories on a faster track for growth. The store will find itself one one of the city's most heavily trafficked streets, nestled amongst other big names that will give it maximum exposure not only among New Yorkers, but also the tourists who will be instrumental in bringing reports of the new chain back to other potential markets both in the U.S. and abroad. It is a strategy that has worked well for other imported chains like Sephora, Mango and Desigual, and even the mothership H&M itself. This is not to say that COS is already the stepchild getting short shrift. The chains are differentiated by a focus only on trendier, women's merchandise at & Other Stories and a more sophisticated, minimalist-inspired style at COS which offers products for Men, Women and Children and is currently the only one of the two chains to offer e-commerce in the U.S. The only question now is whether the store is far enough along in construction to to make its Fall opening date? COS was meant to open this Spring, and has officially been pushed back a season, though that could just be a result of the poltergeists and other ghosts said to haunt the location. As far as we know, there is no such supernatural activity at 575 Broadway, but if the site has just been identified, it might take some magical superpowers to have it ready for business in a few short months.

* That's a new photo of the site pictured above. We added the logo to the image, so it's possible that & Other Stories has been working on the store for a while under the anonymous cover of plywood

H&M sister label & Other Stories selects Soho flagship location (The Real Deal)