The first Valentino mono brand flagship store in Bucharest will open in December within the retail galleria of The Grand, the complex which also hosts the five-star JW Marriott Hotel in Bucharest, Romania-Insider.com has learned. The Valentino store, on some 250 sqm, will open on the right side of the retail galleria within the Grand complex.

This new brand addition comes after the opening of stores like Ermanno Scervino and Alfred Dunhill in the same retail galleria, which also hosts the only Louis Vuitton store in Romania.

The Valentino flagship store opening comes at the same time with the upcoming Burberry mono brand store in the five-star hotel Radisson Blu in Bucharest. It also joins the Gucci store in the five-star hotel Athenee Palace Hilton and the Armani store on Calea Victoriei.

The Valentino Fashion Group runs the Valentino, Missoni and MCS Marlboro Classics. It entered the Romanian market in 2008 with the M Missoni brand and a store in Baneasa Shopping City, operated under franchise by Otter Group.

Valentino Fashion Group S.p.A operates in over 85 countries, with more than 700 single-brand boutiques and 112 directly managed shops, according to its website.

The Grand, the company which owns the five-star hotel JW Marriott Hotel in Bucharest, the Grand Offices and the retail galleria- The Grand Avenue- grew its turnover by 7.4 percent in the first half of this year, to some EUR 12 million. For the full year, the company expects a turnover of around EUR 24 million.

The Grand Offices reached an occupancy rate of 80 percent, while The Grand Avenue is almost fully occupied. For gross operating profit, the management expects even a double-digit growth, it has recently announced.

Corina Saceanu, corina@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Valentino)