H&M plans to open in Palm Springs this fall

UPDATE: 6:11 p.m.

Palm Springs Mayor Robert Moon was one of many excited about the news of clothing store, H&M, announcing their intentions of setting up shop in the city.

“Great brands are coming to Palm Springs, because Palm Springs is a great brand,” Moon said.

With 76 locations already in California, officials with the nationally-known clothing store said they plan to open a store in Downtown this Fall.

“There are a lot of factors that go into where we select to open stores,” H&M Spokesperson Patrick Shaner said. “The main ones are customer-based, and also finding the best locations and the best business conditions for us to open.”

Development has been the talk of city residents, with questions and concerns after former mayor Steve Pougnet, and developers Richard Meaney and John Wessman were charged with bribery.

The news of H&M coming to Downtown Palm Springs came just a day after city leaders held a special public meeting, to talk about the future of development in the city.

But Destination PSP owner Jeffrey Bernstein said the announcement, along with Wednesday’s meeting, marked a positive step for Downtown.

“It looks like the Downtown will move forward,” Bernstein said. “As a business owner, we really want it to. I think it’s good to have a mixture of national brands as well as local businesses.”

As the city looks to continue building forward for the future.

“I think this is a result of what we, as a city council and the city manager, have tried to do since these indictments came out,” Moon said. “To show the investors of the Downtown, to show the financiers and to show the businesses that are coming Downtown, these nationally-known brands, that Palm Springs is open for business. We are business friendly. We are going to see this Downtown completed.

Shaner said they will be hiring 20 local employees at the store.

KESQ and CBS Local 2 reached out to Michael Braun, the current head of Wessman Development, about H&M coming to Downtown. Braun declined to comment, saying he’s not authorized to comment on behalf of tenants.

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ORIGINAL STORY: 4:06 p.m.

H&M is opening a new location in Downtown Palm Springs. The fashion retailer will be opening in fall of 2017.

Officials with H & M, Hennes and Mauritz Inc., said the new store will be about 16,000-square-feet and they will be hiring 20 employees. In 2016, H&M was ranked number 20 on Interbrand’s list of 100 Best Global Brands and was also ranked number 199 out of 500 on Forbes’ list of America’s Best Employers. Check for available job opportunities.

KESQ and CBS Local 2 have already seen online advertisements for job opportunities at the new store.

The announcement comes as Palm Springs city officials are discussing future development plans in the downtown area after two local developers are facing public corruption charges by the Riverside County District Attoreny’s Office.

According to H&M’s news release, the new H&M location will offer Palm Springs residents a one-stop shopping destination for quality clothing for ladies, men and teens, as well as separate “store within a store” sections for accessories. The Downtown Palm Springs location will also carry the H&M Kids collection for newborns to 14 year olds.

H&M officials said the store places an emphasis on design, quality, and sustainability, and high fashion at an unbeatable value.

According to the release, H&M opened its first U.S. store 16 years ago and currently has 467 locations across the country.