The recent spate of retail news in Iceland continues with Time Magazine’s look at Icelandic fashion designers and the proposed takeover of some of the country’s biggest retailers by the man on the street.

Time Magazine this weekend published a feature on its website (here) which looks at the Icelandic fashion and design industry which has apparently been buoyed by the financial crisis.

The article points to lower shop rental costs in central Reykjavik as one of the reasons young and innovative designers are flourishing. Another reason, the article says, is that the weak Icelandic krona is bringing more foreign tourists into the shops and more locals spending more money at home instead of abroad.

In other news, recent concern over the future of Hagar, the operator of many of Iceland’s most important retail brands, has generated a new ‘grassroots’ movement determined to buy the company.

Hagar, which runs Bonus, 10-11, Hagkaup and Debenhams among others, is waiting to find out if owners Jon Asgeir Johannesson and family can source more funding to retain their 60 percent stake in the company or if it will go to Kaupthing Bank.

When Kaupthing’s 40 or 100 percent share goes up for sale at an undisclosed time in the future, the founders of www.thjodarhagur.is want to buy it using investment from thousands of people who “want to see a healthier business atmosphere and competition in the food retail sector”.

Visitors to the website can offer to invest in the purchase of the company from as little as ISK 5,000 and the promise is non binding until the company comes up for sale at which point the potential investors will be contacted.

At the time of writing, nearly 2,500 people had signed up to the group, which will be open for registration at least all this week.