Though H&M never officially announced it, the store that debuted the game-changing Swedish fast-fashion brand in the U.S. will, in fact, be shutting down at the end of this month which means that you have only a few days left to buy whatever is left in there at 50% off according to our friends at Racked. While the company initially denied plans to close the store at Fifth Avenue and 51st Street, as they often have multiple stores clustered nearby in the same area, it seems that even they had to concede that three stores within a ten-block stretch even on Fifth Avenue was a little bit excessive, especially if it includes one of the chain's largest stores in the world. Too big to be converted to one of the company's newer COS or & Other Stories concepts, the location has long been rumored to be where Niketown will move when its lease ends on East 57th Street. Though that isn't supposed to happen for another couple of years, converting the H&M store will probably require a gut renovation and elaborate construction before Nike can move in, so the likelihood of that rumor panning out is still high. This also means that when the next of H&M's immense flagships opens in the former Herald Center space at 34th Street and Broadway sometime next year (?), one of the chain's other stores on that busy corridor —probably the one half a block away between Fifth and Sixth Avenues— will be on its way out as well. That particular store is not quite as huge, and could be a more appropriate candidate to convert to COS, or, more likely, & Other Stories, so stay tuned.
In the meantime, if you are looking re-live some memories of standing in line outside for the latest Designer Collaboration line to launch, or just hunting for some half priced H&M bargains that may or may not be particularly current merchandise, head over to 51st and Fifth and have at it.
H&M Closing Out 51st Street Store With Everything Half-Off (Racked)
UPDATE:
H&M has reponded via Twitter to our post, and tells us that while that store is obviously closing, they are still planning on having three midtown Fifth Avenue stores. Where is the store moving to? That is the question.
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