Aeropostale opens first store at Delhi’s Select Citywalk

American apparel player Aeropostale has opened the doors to its first store at Select CityWalk mall in New Delhi. The studio format store inspired by its Times Square store in New York, was inaugurated by Bollywood star Sonam Kapoor.

The company operates around 1,000 stores globally, with huge presence in international markets such as the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. The brand has been eyeing the Indian market for the last 12 to 18 months, before it actually partnered with Arvind Brands. It already enjoys a dedicated following in cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, where the brand is already present.

It is the first global brand to enter India before the Chinese market. According to Kenneth Ohashi, Senior Vice President-International and Global Licensing at Aeropostale, China, India, Brazil and Russia were the four growth areas they were considering but after having several discussions with J Suresh, CEO of Arvind Brands, the company was certain that India was the first market they would explore.

*Moving ahead, the brand understands that it has to cater to the local tastes to become successful so *the work is on to create a product portfolio exclusive for India. Its team based in New York is working with Arvind to develop the same, which would be launched in India next year.