H&M celebrates opening of first store in Hawaii

28 Mar '14

2 min read

H & M, Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M), one of the world's largest retailers known for offering fashion-forward apparel and quality basics, celebrated the debut of its new location in the heart of Waikiki. The Swedish retailer kicked off festivities last night with an exclusive VIP event.

Invited guests were the first to preview and shop the amazing spring collections for men, women and teens, party in the trendy surfer-inspired hangout and enjoy a special performance by popular indie band Best Coast. H&M also unveiled a one-of-a-kind installation featuring artwork of renowned local surf photographers Mike Coots, Sarah Lee and Zak Noyle.

The new H&M Waikiki flagship store officially opened to the public today at noon. The first 500 shoppers in line received an Access to Fashion Pass valued from $10 to $500 in addition to a limited-edition tote bag capturing the local surf photographers' most popular shots.

"We want to thank the people of Hawaii for a successful kick off of H&M's first store in the Islands. Hawaii's warm reception and pure aloha played a key role in making this grand opening special," said Daniel Kulle, President of H&M North America. "We look forward to strengthening our community partnerships, building new relationships and celebrating our continued growth and expansion of H&M in Hawaii."

Joining H&M in celebrating its Honolulu opening was AccesSurf, a non-profit organization that provides surfing instruction and therapeutic educational programs on water recreation for people with disabilities. AccesSurf enriches lives by assisting families with access to the beach and the ocean in a barrier-free environment.

“H&M provided a $10,000 donation to support its programs and also gave 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale of a limited-edition H&M t-shirt featuring Coots, Lee and Noyle's images.

"We are honored that such an iconic and global brand selected AccesSurf as its grand opening charity partner," said AccesSurf founder Mark Marble. "This generous donation will support the efforts of our over 300 volunteers and the countless hours spent making the ocean an accessible playground for all."

Over 1200 excited customers lined up to be among the first to shop the new location. The Waikiki store has hired 160 local employees, including 20 that have returned home to Hawaii from the mainland.

H&M

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