The Spanish retailer saw profits rise 11 per cent in 2011 to EUR 1.4 billion as it continued to expand into Russia and China. Mango said 82 per cent of its turnover from its 2011 financial year came from foreign markets, with a remaining 18 per cent for its domestic market in Spain.

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Bringing a little je ne sais quoi to the high street, L’Occitane en Provence is set to add another eight stores to its UK portfolio with the help of retail property advisors CWM. L’Occitane will work with CWM to identify six or seven new locations in affluent market towns, along with another store in London.

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Japanese brand Muji has signed an exclusive franchise partnership agreement with MH Alshaya to expand into the Middle East. The iconic home, design and lifestyle brand, which currently operates nearly 500 stores throughout Asia, Europe and the US, will open its first Middle East store this year. Tadamitsu Matsui, chairman of Muji’s parent company Ryōhin Keikaku Co Ltd said:
“We are delighted to be partnering with the Middle East’s leading retail franchiser to bring Muji to new consumers in the Middle East.

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Urban Outfitters has signed two fifteen year leases in York and Sheffield, as the brand looks to continue its UK expansion. The young fashion chain is set to open an 11,000 sq ft unit at Meadowhall in the next few weeks in time for Easter, while work has also begun in York to transform a former Habitat store into Urban’s latest outpost.

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H&M’s fashion forward brand Cos has announced it will continue its European expansion in 2012 with a brand new store in Warsaw, Poland, opening for summer 2012. It will be the fifth new market for the retailer this year, who will also debut in Finland, Italy, Hong Kong and Kuwait.

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Zara has wasted no time in describing ithe where-abouts of its new Manhattan flagship as “a couldn’t-be-better location.”
In an interview with WWD, the fast fashion retailer talks through its new 32,000 sq ft flagship on 666 Fifth Avenue. Click here to read the full story (subscription based content).

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The British urban label has opened a brand new store in Dubai’s Marina Mall this week. It will be the fourth outlet under Superdry’s Middle Eastern expansion agreement with Al Khayyat Investments, a UAE-based holding company representing more than 200 international brands.

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Image from Topshop Spring 2011 Lookbook
The ubiquitous London fashion label has announced plans to open its fourth American store in Los Angeles. Topshop will take over a 25,000 sq ft location from Banana Republic at the Grove Shopping Centre in Los Angeles Fairfax district. Rick Caruso, the real estate developer behind the Grove, told the Los Angeles Times that he had been involved in talks with Topshop owner Sir Philip Green for the last two years, campaigning all the while for a location in L.A.

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LK Bennett campaign shot by Tim Walker
The luxury womenswear brand reported a 17 per cent increase in full year profits to £54.6 million as it looks to expand into the Middle East. LK Bennett cited “excellent growth” in internet sales and a strong expansion into overseas markets as the main contributors to the rise in sales, which grew 18 per cent to £44 million for the year to 30 July.

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Tiffany & Co has signed a memorandum of understanding to enter into a strategic joint venture with Damas Jewellery, adding that it expects to be operating in the UAE within the second quarter of 2012. Under the terms of the memorandum, Tiffany will initially set up three stores in Dubai and two in Abu Dhabi, with the view to expand further into the region.

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