Foreign invaders

This city has been overrun by foreigners for well over 1000 years. The Slavs arrived in the 5th century, but have been successfully conquered at various times by Avars, Hungarians, Turks, Nazis, and Soviets. It is with some relief, I suspect, that the big invasion since Slovakia joined the European Union (EU) in 2004 has been foreign businesses joining in the restoration and revitalization of Bratislava.

Ing, a Dutch financial services company with a major presence in the U.S., has an office here. Other giant financial companies like American Express and CitiBank have offices in Vienna and Prague, but have not yet opened for business in Slovakia.

Apple has an authorized dealership on Hviezdoslavovo námestie.

Well-known fashion designers are plentiful in the Old Town area:

Hugo Boss, a German apparel company, has a shop in the Radisson, next to the U.S. Embassy.

United Colors of Benetton has a store on Michalská, part of the old medieval city.

Trussard is also on Michalská .

Dior has a fashion institute on Michalská.

Armani and Ferre have shops on Laurinská.

Max Mara, an Italian designer, is on Panska, adjacent to the British Embassy.

I haven’t seen any of my personal favorites here yet (Talbott’s, Coldwater Creek, Nordstrom’s, Loehmann’s), but perhaps they’ll be next.

In earlier posts on this blog, I've mentioned T-Mobile Slovakia, McDonald's, and Tesco, more international companies, so I won't repeat them here.

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