This weekend was perhaps one of the busiest times for shopaholics in the capital as high-street fashion brand H & M (Hennes & Mauritz AB) opened its first flagship store at the Select Citywalk mall. The star-studded opening night saw big names from Bollywood like Ranveer Singh, Jacqueline Fernandez and Lisa Haydon shopping at store with the fashion forward bunch of the city. An awesome musical line up including names like DJ Duo Nina, Malika of Electrovertz and Alowala kick started the fashion extravaganza, which doubled up by the start of weekend and turned into a massive shopping spree for many excited buyers.
At the VIP shopping party, we met a few fashion experts and fashionistas, who told us why a brand like H&M entering the Indian market is a win-win situation for brand conscious shoppers from India. Stylist Nidhi Sharma mentions that she shopped a lot from the brand this weekend as their A/W 15 range absolutely fits her budget and style sensibilities. She says, “It’s a globally renowned brand and the current collection is very pocket-friendly with no compromise on quality. The other fashion brands in this league like Forever 21 and Zara will have to watch out and be ready for a tough competition, as the quality and pricing that H&M is offering is very enticing.”
Similarly, designer Gaurav Jagtini, who sampled the men’s wear section thoroughly, points out that the pricing at H&M will be a big crowd puller. He says, “If we compare it to Zara (an already established foreign brand in India) the new entrant will have to be on top of their game to sustain as Indian consumers are well aware of international trends by now. Thanks to social media and nonstop feeds from international runway, Indian consumers are aware of the latest trends that also promises value for money. Right now the basic collection is selling like hot cake, but the brand will have to keep on updating to keep up. With Zara the USP is that as they change and add something new to their collection every fortnight which attracts the customers. We have to wait and watch how H&M brings novelty factor to the Indian market.”
Whereas, Mitali Wadhwan, co-founder of The Pink Post Inc, who shopped bags full on the opening night itself, tells us “I was waiting for the store to open in Delhi, it’s a dream come true. In London we used to shop a lot from H&M and now that the brand is here, I am sure a lot of people will prefer it over other labels.” Another happy shopper Shveta Bhagta, a media professional, agreed and added, “I prefer this brand over others because of the quality and variety that I get here.”
However, for us the shopping thumb rule “shop till you drop” worked absolutely fine at this two-storey store and even we couldn’t resist picking up a few pieces. Not only the women’s section but the kids, men’s wear, shoes and lingerie section kept us occupied and we picked up a few items to give you a glimpse of the first collection that’s on the shelves.
~JB