WORTH THE WAIT
Hundreds were in line Thursday when H&M opened its doors for the first time.
Robert Gillis always lines up early — really early — for big store openings.
So the Charlottetown man found his place in line at 7:15 a.m. Thursday in the hope of snagging some bargains at the new H&M at the Charlottetown Mall.
He was rewarded with a $50 gift certificate and some good deals for joining the queue well before the 11 a.m. opening to one of the world’s largest fashion retailers.
He was far from the first in line, though.
H&M spokeswoman Emily Scarlett says by 6 a.m. eager shoppers were standing outside the massive store that has 20,000 square feet of space.
The first in line was handed a $300 gift certificate.
Lisa Birt of Grand Tracadie did not mind in the least lining up two hours before opening to swarm the store with more than 700 people who flooded into H&M within the first 20 minutes.
“You want to get in for some of the sales the first day,’’ she says.
During the past few years, Birt has made an annual trip with her daughters to the H&M in Moncton.
She is thrilled the retailer, which began in Sweden and entered the Canadian market in 2004, has opened in P.E.I. “I think it’s fantastic,’’ she says. “My teenaged girls love the idea of this store.’’
The effort to stir shoppers into a state of consumer frenzy was not lost on Birt as H&M staff danced up a storm to loud music being spun by a DJ near the store’s entrance.
“It was a great atmosphere,’’ says Birt.
Christine Mackay of Point Prim didn’t expect such a large crowd of shoppers to line up for the opening, but was still pleased with her decision to get an early look at the store. “It’s exciting for sure,’’ she says. “I wanted to check it out. I love it. It’s nice clothes – good clothes for a good price.’’
Scarlett, who has been involved in more than 35 H&M store openings, was pleasantly surprised to see so many shoppers line up for this one in Charlottetown.
“This is an amazing lineup . . . beyond expectations,’’ she says.