Marimekko - Company Announcement

MARIMEKKO OPENS A FLAGSHIP STORE ON NEW YORK'S FIFTH AVENUE

Marimekko Corporation, Stock exchange release 18 March 2011 at 9.00 AM

MARIMEKKO OPENS A FLAGSHIP STORE ON NEW YORK'S FIFTH AVENUE

Marimekko will open its own flagship store in New York City in the heart of
Manhattan in autumn 2011. The shop, with a sales floor area of 350 square
metres, will be in one of the busiest blocks in Manhattan's Flatiron District
at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, which enjoys growing
popularity as a shopping area for local people. The district has a
concentration of many attractive interior decoration and design shops, cafés
and restaurants. The Marimekko showroom opened in New York last autumn will
move during the spring to larger premises also in the Flatiron District, near
to the new shop. Construction costs for the new shop and the showroom are
included in the estimate of the total investments planned for 2011, which was
announced earlier. 

The new flagship store will be built as an experience-rich meeting place in
which Marimekko's varied colours and design idiom will lead the customer from
one inspiring mood to the next. The range will embrace all product lines, and
it is intended for the shop to act as a showcase for new products in
particular. The shop will be based on the same concept as the flagship store
opened in the Kämp Galleria mall in Helsinki in February 2011 - the store in
New York will also be designed by the Japanese architectural firm IMA in
cooperation with Marimekko's own shop design team. 

“Opening a shop of our own in an excellent location in the heart of Manhattan
will support our strategy of building up Marimekko's profile and strengthening
the brand image. 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. However, it is
obvious that the steps we have recently taken in the United States and the
investments, which are very large in view of the size of the company, are not
without risk and that they will require us to take a long view and to have
commitment in this heavily contested market,” says President and CEO Mika
Ihamuotila. 

Marimekko announced on 3 March 2011 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 in summer 2011. Online retailing will augment
and strengthen Marimekko's existing distribution channels. 

On 4 February 2011, Marimekko announced that it was expanding its collaboration
with the prestigious home furnishings retailer Crate and Barrel. By the end of
2013, Crate and Barrel plans to open 22 new Marimekko shop-in-shops in its
stores. 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. In the course of this spring, Crate and Barrel will also open an
online shop specialising in Marimekko products within its website. The first
Marimekko shop in a Crate and Barrel was opened in the SoHo store in New York
City in October 2010. 

Marimekko North America Retail LLC, a subsidiary established in the United
States this year, will manage the operations of the new flagship store and the
online shop. The subsidiary founded in 2010, Marimekko North America LLC, will
be leading the expansion of the brand in the United States. The company's
current retailers in the United States also include Marimekko concept stores in
New York and Cambridge. In the long run, Marimekko's objective is to expand the
distribution of its products in North America through high-end department and
specialty stores as well as by increasing the number of Marimekko stores. 

The address of the Marimekko flagship store in New York will be 200 Fifth
Avenue. 

For further information, please contact
Päivi Lonka, Sales Director, tel. +358 9 758 7430, paivi.lonka@marimekko.fi
Mika Ihamuotila, President and CEO, tel. +358 9 758 71

MARIMEKKO CORPORATION
Group Communications

Piia Pakarinen
Tel. +358 9 758 7293
Email: piia.pakarinen@marimekko.fi

DISTRIBUTION:
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd
Principal media
Marimekko website www.marimekko.com

Marimekko, established in 1951, is a leading Finnish textile and clothing
design company renowned for its original prints and colours. The company
designs and manufactures high-quality clothing, interior decoration textiles,
bags, and other accessories. Marimekko products are sold in about 40 countries.
Products with Marimekko designs are also manufactured under licence in various
countries. In 2010, the company's net sales amounted to EUR 73.3 million, of
which international sales accounted for 29.4%. The Group has about 390
employees. Marimekko's shares are quoted on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd.

Attachments:

Marimekko_Flagship store New York_Stock exchange release_18032011.pdf