Women’s fashion retailer Akira has opened its first South Jersey location at the Deptford Mall, taking over the large second-floor retail space that was originally built out for Forever 21.
The new Akira store is located next to the Round1 arcade and bowling alley, bringing a large selection of women’s clothing, shoes, and accessories to the mall.
Akira actually quietly opened at the end of last week, and I stopped in Monday to check out the beautiful new store and catch up with the team, including store managers Nick and Shawn.
They showed me around the new location, highlighting the different fashion collections and areas that are already getting attention from local shoppers.
Akira is open for shoppers but this upcoming Saturday November 14th they are celebrating their Grand Opening!
AKIRA’s grand opening celebration kicks off on Saturday, Nov. 14*:
- 8 a.m.: Line begins
- 9 a.m.: Doors open, and the first 100 customers receive a free gift*
- 10 a.m.: In-store raffle*
- 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: DJ in the store
- Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 14 and 15: Gift with purchase, while supplies last*
- See store for details.
Akira – Loyal Customers
Akira is a growing women’s fashion brand with more than 40 stores, and they’re clearly creating a lot of excitement among their target audience.
With no locations previously in the immediate area, I hadn’t heard of Akira before my initial September coverage of their plans to open at the Deptford Mall. But I quickly learned that plenty of South Jersey shoppers were already familiar with the brand!
When I shared that original article on Facebook, I was happily surprised to see so many excited and positive comments from people who were already Akira customers but had been traveling to other locations, including the King of Prussia Mall and Delaware.
They were absolutely ecstatic to learn that they would soon have an Akira store right here in South Jersey.
Some even joked that they were going to need part-time jobs because they expected to spend all their money shopping at Akira!
Founded in Chicago in 2002, Akira has grown into a women’s fashion retailer with more than 40 stores, as well as an online shopping presence.
Akira Deptford Mall – Large Store, Broad Selection
Seeing the store firsthand in Deptford, the clothing collections are broken out into two main categories.
One side of the store supports a more casual, everyday clothing experience, while the other side targets a more glamorous “night on the town” fashion experience.
The center of the store features a shoe section, with fitting rooms located toward the center rear of the retail space.
The overall layout actually gives Akira a bit of a small department store feel, although clearly it’s not quite that large.
Quite honestly, it’s a nicely designed retail store.
As I said to Shawn during our conversation, the former Forever 21 space already had “good bones,” and the Akira team did a great job coming in and providing a full decor redo for the shopping experience.
That includes nicely designed display tables highlighting different sales taking place throughout the store.
Speaking of sales, the back left corner appeared to be somewhat of a closeout area, with many items marked as 90% off during my visit.
Overall, I was really happy to see Akira open in Deptford, particularly after reading so many enthusiastic comments from local shoppers who were excited that they no longer needed to drive to King of Prussia.
It’s another exciting addition to the Deptford Mall!
And there’s more happening at the mall this week, as the remodeled American Eagle store, Aerie Offline, and Aerie are also expected to open, along with a remodeled Pandora store.
I’ll be covering those additional store openings and remodels very soon!
Links and Location
Akira Deptford Mall – Now Open!
Second Level: Next to Round One
1750 Deptford Center Road
Deptford Mall
