You can’t spell “market” without “arket,” I’d just never thought about that until today. The Business of Fashion exclusively reported on Thursday that multinational Swedish clothing company H&M is launching a new retail brand called “Arket,” I supposed because it is being pitched as a “modern-day market” (but isn’t that what a “store” is in the first place?).
According to the company, Arket will sell products from its own line—as well as some non-H&M brands—for men, women, children, and homes. The clothes will be slightly more expensive than those sold at H&M, which already has several other brands in its portfolio including Cheap Monday, COS, Monki, and Weekday.
Arket’s creative director, Ulrika Bernhardtz told BoF that Arket’s “brand DNA” will be, “timeless, crisp, quality and warmth.” But what the hell does that mean? Well, Bernhardz elaborates, “Timeless is style beyond trend. And crisp is the counterpart to that: to be always relevant, modern and fresh. Quality is not only the feel of garments; it’s also how they are produced. Warmth is about being genuine and personal.” So, it sounds like they sell heavily starched Oxford shirts.
The first physical Arket will open in London, either this summer or early autumn, at which point its products will also become available for purchase online in 18 European countries. Some Arket stores will feature cafés that serve Nordic food.
Arket means “sheet of paper” in Swedish, and autocorrects to “market” in English. Also, if you put “H&M” in front of “Arket” you sort of get “market.” Hm.
[via Business of Fashion]