Swedish fast-fashion retailer H&M to open its 7th NZ store in Hamilton

Thursday, 7 March 2019

H&M country manager Hans Anderson talks in the lead up to its Commercial Bay store opening in 2018.

Fast fashion giant H&M is rapidly expanding its New Zealand presence, and Hamilton's Chartwell Mall has been chosen as its next location.

The Swedish retailer has only 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 already growing 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.

**READ MORE:

BERLIN, GERMANY - MARCH 28: The logo of Swedish clothing retailer H&M hangs over one of its stores on March 28, 2018 in Berlin, Germany. H&M, which is the world's second largest clothing retailer, announced yesterday it is struggling with plunging profits and rising inventories as popular demand for its clothes declines. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

* H&M to open new Tauranga store in 2019

* Fashion brand Zara to launch NZ online store in March

* Behind the scenes inside New Zealand's first H&M Home store**

Waikato Chamber of Commerce chief executive Chris Simpson says H&M's arrival was exciting news.

The Waikato Expressway — fast track from Auckland to Tirau — that 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.'

Also Swedish, the homeware brand Ikea announced in January it would open a pop up store by the end of the year and its bigger warehouse, style store in Auckland.

H&M opened its largest NZ store in Auckland's Commercial Bay featuring a homeware department and four levels of clothing and apparel, last year.

Hamilton will be H&M's seventh New Zealand store.

H&M's NZ 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.

There is still no sign of an online shop anytime soon for H&M.

'We're eager to meet our customers in these new areas and provide them with a truly international shopping experience,' Lattemann said.

The company is currently looking for staff and expects to hire about 50 employees.

Simpson said the prospect of new jobs that big retailers brought to the city of 167,000 was encouraging.

'Jobs are always welcome especially in a city like this. The continued growth of jobs, it would be nearly four per cent of jobs being created in Hamilton.'

H&M is opening another store in Auckland's Eastern suburb of Botany this year.

Simpson said as parking in Hamilton's Chartwell mall was well placed to handle increased traffic, but as the city continued to grow it was inevitable pressure on infrastructure, including parking, would increase.

H&M entered the New Zealand market in 2016 with a store in Auckland shopping centre Sylvia Park.

There is still no sign of an online shop anytime soon for H&M, but its competitor Zara which entered the New Zealand market around the same time in 2016 set up its online shopping website a year ago.

Simpson said although online shopping was growing, bricks and mortar remained a popular way for Hamilton's locals to shop.