The pressure is on for apparel retailers, as two new competitors are planning their entry into the U.S. discount space.
Swedish fast-fashion retailer H&M said on Thursday it will bring two of its secondary retail brands, & Other Stories and COS, to the U.S. this year. Last week, General Growth Properties CEO Sandeep Mathrani told CNBC the retailer was looking to bring these concepts to the U.S.
The higher-priced COS brand will open two domestic locations, in New York and Los Angeles, as well as an online shop. It will also open in Australia, Switzerland and South Korea. Along with its New York City location, & Other Stories, which currently has eight stores in Europe, will also open stores in Belgium and the Netherlands.
The retailer plans to open a total of 375 new stores in 2014, putting the pressure on brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch and Aéropostale, which have lost many fickle teen shoppers to the fast-fashion scene.
"We have a strong customer offering with many great collections and we are constantly working to further develop and broaden our product range," H&M's CEO Karl-Johan Persson said in a release.
H&M has said its growth target is to increase its store count by 10 to 15 percent a year.
Also Thursday, the retailer announced lower-than-expected earnings for the first quarter and a 12 percent sales increase.