H&M has added another ampersand to its business portfolio. This one, though, is at a higher end than the attire found in the chain’s more than 2,000 locations worldwide.

& Other Stories launched on March 8th with a bash in London, where the new brand will have its first brick-and-mortar store that will offer the brand’s first clothing line as well as a number of products from other labels and designers. Called C-labs, these temporary partnerships include such companies as The Lake & Stars lingerie, Clare Vivier’s bags and accessories, Alyson Fox’s jewelry and fashion designs by Abigail Lorick Im, WWD reports. “We like working with people who we like,” Anna Teurnell, & Other Stories’ head of design, told WWD. “And these labels complement what we have already.”Continue reading...

H&M today confirmed the name for the new higher-priced store brand it's planning to open in 2013, following rumors that it was developing a new sub-brand to extend its appeal to those shoppers who zoom in whenever the fast-fashion retailer collaborates on a diffusion line with a high-end fashion designer.

A publicist for the fashion-conscious Swedish-based retailer told AFP "it is correct that H&M will launch a new chain in 2013 called & other stories, but this is all the available information we have as of today." The retailer also confirmed to just-style.com that the new store brand will launch in Europe, and will "build on the positive experience of Cos."

H&M's stable of retail brands includes the higher-end Cos in addition to Monki, Weekday and Cheap Monday. A spokeswoman told Fashionologie that the new store brand "will not be a luxury brand, but it will be a retail chain that will follow the same ambition as H&M, to offer our customers the best price for a comparable item."

The & other stories name taps into a popular theme in retail, where creating a brand story is red hot. Witness the Stefan Sagmeister-branded Story, a New York concept store that launched in February and changes its theme, fixtures, brand partners and inventory every four to eight weeks. Its current theme: color.