The first store in Israel of Polish fashion chain Reserved will open tomorrow in the Ayalon Mall in Ramat Gan. In order to stir a buzz and draw a crowd at least for the opening, Reserved will distribute airline tickets to destinations in Eastern Europe to the first 200 buyers in the chain's stores. The store is located on the 800-square meter former site of a branch of the H&O chain.
Reserved comes off well in a comparison with Zara; Reserve's prices are substantially cheaper. Dresses are being sold for NIS 90, trousers for NIS 100 and skirts for NIS 60. T-shirts are on sale starting at NIS 30, while fancier shirts are being sold fairly cheaply at NIS 60-90. Accessories such as bags are being sold for NIS 60 or more, while hats and sunglasses are available for NIS 40 or more.
Reserved will open a second branch of the same size as the first one this year in the Givatayim Mall, also on the former site of an H&O branch. Larger branches with an average of 1,500 square meters each will be opened next year in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa; these will include men's women's and children's fashions.
The concern responsible for bringing Reserved to Israel is the H&O group, managed by CEO Amir Moshe. H&O, which operates 60 stores around Israel, is owned by the Livnat family, one of Israel's wealthiest and most powerful families.
Reserved is part of a larger Polish fashion group with 1,800 branches worldwide named LPP. LPP, whose share is one of the 20 leading shares on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, reported sales growth of more than 10% in 2017.
Reserved is setting up shop in Israel just a few months after last winter's fashion sector crisis in Israel, which was part of a global trend. Meanwhile, while large fashion chains such as H&M are closing down branches and cutting down their global presence, Reserved is bucking the trend by opening stores in large cities such as London, Berlin, Moscow, and others. The chain's timing in Israel is delicate, because renters are currently struggling against shopping malls and centers groups in an effort to lower rent, following a tough year that saw veteran fashion groups like Honigman close their doors.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 14, 2018
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