Monki plans Iceland debut this spring

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jan 21, 2019

Fresh from announcing plans to launch its COS chain in Iceland later this year, Swedish fashion retail giant H&M has just said that it will debut its Scandinavian women’s fashion brand Monki in the country as well. 

The brand’s 450 square metre flagship will be situated in Reykjavik’s Smáralind mall, which is Iceland’s largest shopping centre. The brand’s managing director Jennie Dahlin Hansson said that the country “is a new and exciting market for us.”

The company also said that the store will be “a treasure trove of shimmers and glitter” where the customer “will be led on a tour into the Monki world, where each detail in the boutique is part of the story. With additional design features unique to the store, customers will be welcomed in through a long arch façade and greeted by a carousel of disco balls.”

The brand, which was launch in 2006, aims to engage young female consumers via a “unique blend of Scandi-cool and Asian street style,” so it’s perhaps surprising that that it’s taken almost 13 years for it to reach Iceland, which is a relatively local market for H&M.

Despite the relatively small population in Iceland (only around 340,000) and Reykjavik (around 123,000), it’s a major tourist destination and on average, tourist numbers are around six times that of the permanent population. 

It also attracts a higher proportion of millennial tourists than some other countries and therefore looks likely to be a strong - if not huge - market for the label.