MILAN — Arket’s three-year retail streak is continuing well into 2026 with a new opening in Rome, its second store in Italy after the big Milan flagship unveiled in 2024.
“We have big respect and love for the Italian market, which expects high level of fashion, quality and handcraft. The Milan store and our digital store have sparked good reactions in the market,” said Pernilla Wohlfahrt, managing director of Arket and a veteran of H&M group, which owns the brand.
On Friday, the company will open its new store on Rome’s Via Frattina, a luxury and fashion shopping thoroughfare. Spanning 7,158 square feet across three floors, it is roughly two-thirds of the Milan flagship on Piazza Cordusio.
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In sync with Arket’s retail blueprint, the interiors wink to the local culture and architecture, with the grand staircase connecting the three floors done in Rosso Levanto red marble flanked by minimalist displays and furniture. Decked in gray with a same-tone terrazzo flooring alternated with parquet, the store features wooden furniture in lighter and darker iterations, nodding to Scandi design.
“The store is very centrally located in Rome, offering a curated selection of Arket’s products,” Wohlfahrt said, mentioning the mix of women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, as well as accessories, body care and design items.
More categories are on Arket’s horizon.
“We always follow what customers want. Fashion is the strongest category right now, but home goods are really growing. We will soon add fragrances, too” Wohlfahrt offered.
The executive didn’t rule out opening more stores in Italy in due course, as Arket’s retail strategy entails not only first-tier cities — as Milan and Rome — but also smaller towns. She cited Sweden as an example where the brand opened its second store in Malmo, following its debut in the capital of Stockholm in 2018.
Including the Rome unit, Arket counts 55 flagships globally. The e-commerce site is available in more than 70 countries.
Arket’s retail streak kicked off in 2014 with 11 store openings, including Barcelona, Spain and Warsaw, Poland. Last year was the Swedish brand’s busiest, with 14 new flagships unveiled in key European markets such as Oslo and Bergen in Norway; Vienna; Prague, Czech Republic; and Dublin. In 2026 retail consolidation sees additional openings in Athens, Greece; Vilnius, Lithuania; and its third store in Warsaw.
The brand launched in 2017 on Regent Street in London and has been steadily building momentum, expanding in Europe and Asia-Pacific.
Wohlfahrt said that Germany and the U.K. are the strongest countries in Europe, which remains a focus for Arket, alongside Asia, where China and South Korea are enjoying momentum.