Cheap Monday has opened in the Marais

By

Florent Gilles

Published
Apr 14, 2014

On Friday April 11, Cheap Monday opened a flagship store in Paris’ Upper Marais. Located at 121 rue Vieille du Temple (4th arrondissement), the store stretches over 300 square meters and showcases the entire range of the brand, which presents its collections at Stockholm fashion weeks.

The store’s architectural concept, designed by the young Swedish architectural firm UglyCute, illustrates a new approach for Cheap Monday outlets: this store far less dark than previous shops in London and Copenhagen.

To celebrate its Paris debut, the brand’s studio has dreamed up a special collection that plays upon touristy clichés like the Mona Lisa and Joan of Arc. The motifs have been printed on skirts, jeans, denim jackets and shirt, as well as limited edition t-shirts and accessories.

Cheap Monday now has more than 200 dealers across France. "France is one of our key markets, like South Korea and the U.S., which are also very important for us," says brand COO Hakan Ström, present at the opening.

“The fact that we belong to H&M allows us, for example, to open a branch in any country where we want to work, such as in China, for example, where we have had an easy time opening (in Beijing and Shenyang, editor’s note) in recent months.” The brand shares production teams with H&M, although their studios have remained independent.

The group’s size, however, also has its disadvantages, admits the brand’s operations manager. “It’s taken us two years to open this shop, and it’s likely that without H&M’s name behind us, negotiations would not have taken so long."

Formerly occupied by an art gallery, Cheap Monday’s new store stands opposite to Surface to Air’s flagship and A.P.C.’S shop a stone’s throw away. It’s also not far from an American Apparel store that offers similar prices.