Center City retail resurgence: Dozens of new stores have followed the young and affluent moving into downtown.

Byline: Wendy Tanaka and Jane M. Von Bergen, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Dec. 28--Swedish retailer H&M opened a Center City store three years ago as part of its plan to blanket the East Coast, not because it thought Philadelphia would be a great market. But H&M's Chestnut Street store has been bustling since it opened in 2002. This has prompted the trendy apparel merchant that targets younger shoppers to take over the second floor at 1530 Chestnut, and open another store close by at 1723 Walnut St. "We're all quite surprised that we did so well ... better than expectations," said Pelle Persson, H&M's store expansion director. As Center City's population has grown, adding more young and affluent people in recent years, dozens of new retailers have set up shop in town to cater to the tastes and expectations of the new Philadelphians. Names such as Cole Haan, Zara, Design Within Reach, West Elm and L'Occitane have opened stores in Center City. BCBG Max Azaria has just signed a lease, and other retailers are clamoring to get in. The stores are …