More than 2,500 H&M fans lined up for over 12 hours outside of the Chilean flagship store in Costanera Center. The doors opened at 10 in the morning and welcomed the crowd into its two level 2,600 square meter store.
Karl-Johan Persson, CEO of H&M, cut the ribbon and welcomed the first eager shoppers along with H&M Chile’s Country Manager, Macu Alfaro and Store Manager, Sandra Cisternas. The first two lucky fans, who started the queue two days prior to the opening, received a $150,000 Chilean pesos gift card each. The following 300 received a $30,000 Chilean pesos gift card and the next thousand received $15,000 Chilean pesos valid for their purchases.
"We have had an amazing response from our customers here in Santiago and we look forward to bringing H&M’s concept of fashion and quality at the best price to Chile. We are also excited to finally be expanding our business concept here within South America and also in the Southern Hemisphere," says Macu Alfaro, Chile’s Country Manager.
Two nights before, at the pre-launch exclusive party, prominent figures in Chile’s fashion and entertainment industry as well as members of the media were invited to preview and shop at H&M’s spectacular store. Some of the most notable guests included; international film director/actor Eli Roth, María José Prieto and her husband Cristián Campos, supermodel Trinidad de la Noi, actresses Fernanda and Isidora Urrejola, Ignacio Garmendia, Nicolás and Fabrizio Copano, Olympic athlete Tomás Gonzàlez, among others. International celebrity Lourdes Hernández, lead singer of the Spanish indie band Russian Red performed in an exclusive setting.
H&M’s flagship store at Centro Comercial Costanera Center carries a complete range of fashion and accessories for women, men, youth and children with new items in store daily. The store also launches an exclusive collection created for the Chilean customers named Unique Collection. Some of fall’s key looks for women include angora knits, body-con dresses and printed leggings. Menswear is all about personal style with relaxed outfits such as varsity jackets and cardigan as outerwear.
The H&M flagship store has approximately 170 employees and will be open from 10am to 10 pm daily.
Following the first store opening in Chile, H&M will continue its expansion in Serbia, Estonia, Lithuania and Indonesia during 2013.
