H&M stands for hello, Manila!

Everywhere you looked, people were in a mad scramble to get the stuff. A barricade was set up outside while a seemingly infinitely sprawled red carpet embraced the flagship store. Champagne flowed, and people came, shopped, and were conquered. To say that this was the most awaited retail event of the year is an understatement. H&M is finally in Manila!

The long wait is finally over. Outside the Mega Fashion Hall, there was a giant digital timer that was ticking with anticipation. Shoppers stared at it daily, waiting for the timer to go off and for the doors of the beloved global brand to open. Last Wednesday, a sneak peek for H&M’s 1,000 closest friends happened, making the city’s shopping set go on a state of panic and lunge head first into the store.

I had the honor and privilege of hosting and welcoming the first batch of excited shoppers and though I wanted to join in on the frenzy and outshop everyone, I had a job to do. Aside from the warm welcome extended by the H&M people who flew from all over the world just to support the Philippine opening, there were surprise performances as well. DJ Yulia flew in from Tokyo to provide the beats for the night, and in a stroke of Pinoy pride brilliance, Rachelle Ann Go glided down from the three-level store’s escalators to sing a few songs, to the surprise of everyone! Yes, Rachelle Ann skipped five shows of the West End hit Miss Saigon to be able to hit the high notes with us on this historic date.

Rachelle Ann’s high notes matched the long lines (from here to eternity) that had formed from the shopping frenzy that had just occurred. Last I looked, the clock struck midnight and I was still there, alongside a hundred plus shoppers happily holding on to their bags, knowing that H&M is finally home.

Patience, indeed, has its rewards.