Spanish retail giant Zara opens in North Carolina today

Zara, the Spanish retailer with a massive global following, opened a sprawling two-story store at SouthPark Mall today, about 18 months after announcing its plans. It comes during Zara’s 50th anniversary year.

The 29,000-square-foot store is among the first in the U.S. to debut a new design, with warm wood tones, neutral décor and an elegant, spacious floor plan for leisurely browsing.

The new store joins about 1,900 Zara and Zara Home stores operated by owner Inditex Group. Overall, the Arteixo, Spain-based company operates more than 5,500 stores in about 100 countries.

Zara is famous for developing new apparel and distributing it to stores within two weeks, versus six months for most retailers.

Inditex revenue grew 2.7% during the first nine months of the year to more than $32 billion, while net profit gained 3.9% to top $5 billion.

The new store boasts high-tech customer-experience features like easy self-checkouts and an automated collection point for retrieving online orders. One of the niftiest features: a fitting area with motion sensors that alert customers to which rooms are open and which are occupied. (No more awkward knocking or peeking under doors to find an open room.)

The automated touches are part of a broader strategy to improve the customer experience, says Amaya Guillermo, head of communications and corporate affairs for Zara in the U.S.

“We want the customer to spend their time having fun and discovering new collections … We don’t want our customers standing in a long line.”

Zara’s Charlotte store carries women’s, men’s and children’s styles. The store is arranged in a series of “rooms” reflecting different styles and collections, from streetwear/casual to dressier styles and even formal wear for men. The first floor houses more sophisticated looks, plus upscale casual styles, including denim and knitwear, and the men’s department.

The Charlotte store boasts an expansive shoe and bag area that’s part of the new store design, available in only a handful of U.S. stores.

An escalator leads to the upper level, with more casual styles for younger shoppers, along with a sprawling children’s department with kid favorites like KPop Demon Hunters hoodies, along with mom-friendly traditional styles. Another feature parents will love: Styles are displayed with matching shoes to take the stress out of putting outfits together.

The Charlotte store also has a large newborn and baby department, exclusive to only certain U.S. locations. There’s also a clothing donation area for pre-owned garments.

Zara has more than 250 designers all based in its Spain headquarters, Guillermo says. Inventory is constantly evolving; each store receives new products twice a week. Product displays in the Charlotte store reflect customer preferences in the Carolinas: plenty of plaids, denim, casual wear, boots and accessories.

Zara’s first U.S. store opened in New York in 1989. Today, the retailer operates more than 100 stores nationally.

“We have changed a lot, our design, but we always keep the same business model,” Guillermo says. “That is, from the very beginning, the idea is to offer fashion to our customers with affordable prices and good quality,” while also working to achieve climate neutrality by 2040.