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| The gray building with the balconies and people in front is 34 College Green...the future A&F Dublin. (image source) |
Finally, Abercrombie & Fitch will open doors in charming ole Ireland! The Company is prepping up to open its first store in Ireland in Dublin as a part of its flagship openings for 2011. Following along with its high standards, A&F will open doors on the stately College Green square - the most ideal place for A&F to showcase its coolness (and upscale image) to the Irish consumer.
The news made headlines back in Ferbuary and we posted on it in our The Luck of the Irish... post. But there were many things left unclear and the news reports made some errors. Grafton Street - a street Cushman & Wakefield named the 5th most expensive in the world (2008) - was incorrectly said to be the address. That is an error. The upcoming A&F flagship will be located at 34 College Green in a structure that offers more of a statement than anything on Grafton Street would have provided for...Abercrombie & Fitch has penchant for structures with detail and integrity.
“The deal will come as a major boost to retailing in Dublin. Abercrombie and Fitch are joining an already impressive line-up of national and international fashion and lifestyle brands now trading here. Their decision to locate here was influenced by our strong tourist base, our young population demographic and the significant level of brand recognition that exists here”. - Larry Brennan of Savills Ireland, which acted for Clarendon Properties for the lease.Rumors of Abercrombie & Fitch opening shop in Dublin had been circulating since 2008, and the Company finally secured a location earlier this year. The building will offer about 26,000 square feet of sales space and will come at around €750,000 ($1.1 million USD) per annum. (The contract was made for 10-years lease: 2011 through 2021). As a result, the shopping area is said to probably gain much from the opening of Abercrombie & Fitch. The popular brand will bring in a "boost" for College Green "which has attracted a rash of unfavourable publicity over the past two years because many of its shops are over-rented and others are difficult to let due to a fall off in consumer spending."
After opening in all key European cities of fashion and consumerism, an opening in Ireland is much in order. There's a great demand for Abercrombie & Fitch on Ireland and the fans are finally going to get a store of their own. There is no known date on when the flagship will open. The Sitch on Fitch will keep you posted whenever we get word on the opening day - we'll post it here - so refer back to this post. Stay FIERCE!
P.S. Abercrombie & Fitch in Dublin...the Luck of the Irish! is actually a revised edition of The Luck of the Irish... post we made back in February. That post was so outdated, and we'll only keep it up for archive purposes.
