The Mall of America's north expansion will soon have tenants that span A to Z — A for Anthropologie and Z for Zara.

The megamall in Bloomington had been tight-lipped in the last couple of months when a flurry of online job postings indicated that the popular Spanish fast-fashion retailer Zara would soon be opening its first Minnesota location. On Monday, the mall will confirm it.

Zara will open a 30,000-square-foot, two-story store in time for the holidays. The store will include apparel and accessories for women, men and kids.

"It's definitely destination retail," said Beth Perro-Jarvis of Twin Cities-based Ginger Consulting. "I think it may bring women back to the Mall of America who have gone elsewhere."

Herself included. She has found herself going to Mall of America less since Nordstrom opened a second location in the region at Ridgedale Center last year.

"I personally love Zara," she said. "A lot of women love that brand. It has a great price point, it's always fresh and it's fun to go in there."

Zara has more than 2,000 stores around the world but only about 50 stores in the U.S. While it has been growing quickly, executives told analysts last month that it will slow down new store openings and focus more on flagship sites in key locations, such as a three-floor store it opened earlier this year in Manhattan.

"Zara is a global retail leader and we are very excited to have them as a partner at Mall of America," Liz McLay, the Mall of America's senior vice president of leasing, said in a statement. "As another first-to-market concept at MOA, this worldwide brand is a testament to the continued demand for flagship concepts in the Twin Cities."

Last week, the mall announced that a 10,000-square-foot Anthropologie store will open on the first floor of the mall's addition later this year.

That store, along with Zara, are the first announced for the addition on the north side of the mall, which opened last year and includes the mall's new front entrance.

Kavita Kumar • 612-673-4113