International News - Mango forced to look outside capital

Fashion retailer Mango will extend its presence outside Moscow because of a lack of space in the capital.

The womenswear retailer has three shops in Moscow and one in St Petersburg.

However, it already has six shops outside the two cities.

Mango plans to open four more in the towns' environs by the end of this year. Aniko Kostyal, area manager for Central and Eastern Europe and Russia, said finding good sites in central Moscow is increasingly difficult.

She said stores in central Moscow would probably be restricted to new shopping centres.

Mango operates shops through franchise agreements and now has several partners in Russia. However, Kostyal said the retailer is looking for additional partners.

Mango has 35 stores elsewhere in Eastern and Central Europe, including Poland, Latvia, Ukraine and the Czech Republic. It opened its first store outside Spain in 1992 and now has a presence in 70 countries.

- Separately, the retailer has announced plans to open up to eight more stores in Italy. It has opened six outlets in the country since 2001, including two last month in Turin and Bologna.