Tron in fashion as H&M rolls out expansion
Fast-fashion giant H&M is rapidly expanding its New Zealand presence, and Hamilton’s Chartwell Shopping Centre has been chosen as its next location.
The Swedish retailer has revealed the store would open this winter, but would not give an exact day for the opening.
Waikato Chamber of Commerce chief executive Chris Simpson said H&M’S arrival would boost the city’s economy.
‘‘For Hamilton it’s just wonderful that we’re getting that quality of retail turning up in the city. It’s definitely coming at a time when Hamilton itself is on a growth spurt,’’ Simpson said.
The Waikato Expressway, which is expected to open next year, will make Hamilton more attractive as a destination for big retailers, Simpson said. ‘‘We’d love to get an Ikea.’’
The announcement means Hamilton will be home to H&M’S seventh New Zealand store.
H&M’S New Zealand sales manager, Daniel Lattemann, said with its Tauranga store opening in the pipeline for next month, 2019 was shaping out to be an ‘‘exciting’’ year for the company.
‘‘We’re eager to meet our customers in these new areas and provide them with a truly international shopping experience,’’ Lattemann said.
H&M is looking for staff and expects to hire about 50 workers.
Simpson said the prospect of new jobs that big international retailers brought to Hamilton was encouraging.
‘‘Jobs are always welcome, especially in a city like this. The continued growth of jobs – it would be nearly 4 per cent of jobs being created in Hamilton.’’
H&M is also opening another store in Auckland’s eastern suburb of Botany this year.
Simpson said car parking at the Chartwell mall was well placed to handle increased traffic, but as Hamilton continued to grow it was inevitable that pressure on infrastructure, including parking, would increase.
H&M entered the New Zealand market in 2016 with a store at Auckland’s Sylvia Park.
There is still no sign of an online shop for H&M, but Zara, a direct competitor that also entered the New Zealand market in 2016, set up its online shopping website a year ago.
Simpson said bricks and mortar retail remained a popular way for Hamilton locals to shop.