Flying Tiger, the $1 billion Danish brand specializing in low prices and an eclectic assortment with droll product design, is opening its second U.S. store in mid-April, which will be on west side of Third Avenue between 73rd and 74th Streets.
Flying Tiger’s first U.S. store opened last May on Broadway and 21st Street.
The company is eyeing locations in the five boroughs as well as on Long Island and in New Jersey, though no other sites were disclosed. “We really like the energy of the street,” more so than malls, said Tina Kanter, managing director of Flying Tiger Copenhagen. The U.S. expansion, she added, is “proceeding at a good speed, in a very strategic way. We’re feeling out what the best neighborhoods are for us.”
Like the Flatiron store, the one on the Upper East Side will be about 5,000-square-feet, sell a similar assortment and have the same “maze” footprint, where the track of the store veers left, snakes to the back and then right to the other side of the space.
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“We always do the maze,” Kanter said. “The fun, energy, music and excitement will all be the same.” One difference will be in the clientele. The uptown store, formerly Kate’s Paperie, is not expected to attract many tourists.
At the Flatiron store, stationary, pens, pencil, notebooks, storage items for the office, pillows, puzzles, home decor, frames, rugs, stuffed animals and games have been among the bestsellers. Tiger sells such products as telescoping back scratchers, dinosaur costumes and candles that emit different colored flames, and turns its merchandise quickly, every six to eight weeks. The majority of the merchandise is sold for under $10. The chain is not considered a discounter, off-pricer or dollar store.
Tiger was founded by Lennart Lajboschitz in the Eighties when he sold umbrellas and overstock at flea markets and rock concerts until eventually opening his first store in Copenhagen in 1995. There are close to 600 stores in 27 countries, primarily in Europe, as well as in Japan. Stores are either company-owned or joint ventures. The two U.S. stores are company owned.