International fashion brands are set to open more stores in Kenya this year. Among these are Turkish clothing line LC Waikiki, The Foschini Group of South Africa, the UK’s F&F and jewelry firms that include Austria’s Swarovski and India’s Anmol.

They see Kenya as a good investment destination because of the retail environment and the growing middle class. And infrastructure in Kenya is relatively well developed compared to other East and West African countries.

Kenyans have an international outlook regarding fashion and entertainment, always in tune with what is happening in New York, London and Milan. LC Waikiki will open the first store in sub-Saharan Africa in the first quarter of the year. The clothing line has over 600 stores spread across 33 countries.

TFG has 22 different retail brands under its label. The new stores will see the group introduce the Foschini women’s wear shop, the Markham brand targeting men and a second Sterns Jewelry store. Sterns is a contemporary and classic jewelry shop.

Swarovski is a brand known for its crystal glass products and accessories that are widely used by celebrities and fashion designers. F&F is a fashion subsidiary of UK’s largest grocery and general merchandise store Tesco.