Marimekko has announced plans to open its own 1150 sf flagship store this fall on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan’s Flatiron District. Like its flagship in Helsinki, the New York shop will be designed by Japanese architectural firm IMA in cooperation with Marimekko’s own design team.

"It is crucially important for us to be able to introduce our customers to the whole world of Marimekko in our own way. The new flagship store is also meant to support our online shop, which will be opened in the US this year, and our extensive cooperation with Crate and Barrel,” said President and CEO Mika Ihamuotila.

Marimekko announced earlier this month that it was building international e-commerce. The first online shop will be opened in the United States, and the aim is to have it up and running by summer in order to augment and strengthen the company's existing distribution channels.

Wellington Lee/Marimekko

In addition, Marimekko announced that it was expanding its collaboration with Crate and Barrel and plans to open 22 new Marimekko shop-in-shops in its stores by 2014. The first four of the new shop-in-shops will be opened this Spring: on Madison Avenue in New York as well as in Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The first Marimekko shop in a Crate and Barrel was opened in the SoHo store in New York City in October 2010.