Hollister continues to march across Europe

Abercrombie & Fitch continues to expand its surf-themed Hollister stores in Europe, with three stores planned this year for Spain, executives said during an earnings conference call yesterday.

In all, the company will open 20 Hollister stores in Europe this year, down from its original estimate of 25. The reduced number is due to timing issues, rather than a change in plan.

CEO Mike Jeffries said Hollister is doing “excellent” in the UK in all different kind of locations, from the suburbs of London to Cardiff. Hollister is also strong in cities such as Frankfurt and Rome.

“We will be pushing Hollister for mall growth throughout Europe and elsewhere,” he said.

Domestically, not many more Hollister stores are planned. Currently, Hollister has 509 stores in the U.S.

At the end of the second quarter, Hollister had 21 international stores.