Zara, one of the giants of retail fast fashion, is coming to Bellevue, specifically Bellevue Square. After a very successful opening in downtown Seattle in February of 2014, the company has set its sights on Bellevue, where it will open in Bellevue Square’s South Common (former site of JCPenney) with a nearly 26,000 sq. ft., one-level store.
Zara carries on-trend and of-the-moment fashion for men, women and children, and has been a huge success in the Seattle downtown shopping core. This Spain-based company does almost no advertising and is a unique model of retail. Their in-house designers keep up on the ever-changing trends of the moment via the catwalks and other retail. Styles are produced in under three weeks in small batches that can be discarded easily if unpopular or reproduced again. With 12,000 new designs a year, this is the place for fresh, affordable and of-the-moment pieces.
image courtesy of Uniqlo
The addition of Zara is part of The Bellevue Collection expansion plan for the South Common area of Bellevue Square that also includes Uniqlo. Uniqlo, the trendy Japanese megastore, specializes in well-priced basics for men, women and children on a large scale. Interestingly, Uniqlo made the uniforms or Japan’s Olympic team in 1998, 2002, and 2004. The company is also notably retail with a conscience. They distribute recycled clothing, and as of March 2014, the company had donated 11.29 million items of clothing to refugees, victims of disasters and needy families around the world.
Stores such as Uniqlo and Zara will be part of a larger expansion for The Bellevue Collection that includes hotels, office space, restaurants and retail space. Stay tuned, Bellevue shoppers: The opening for both of these stores is scheduled for Fall 2015, with the exact date to be determined.
