H&M makes it official: Northlake store coming

Swedish fast-fashion retailer H&M announced Tuesday that it is planning a second Charlotte-area store, this one at Northlake Mall.

The announcement isn't a big surprise: Building permits, the mall's marketing materials and Northlake's Facebook page all confirmed the new store last month.

The store will open in the fall, H&M said, the same time frame for the previously-announced Carolina Place store. It wasn't immediately clear Tuesday which will open first.

The store will debut in a 28,000 square-foot space, larger than the 17,000 square-foot Carolina Place store. It will be in Northlake's former Borders bookstore space. Building permits show the retailer is spending more than $2 million on the project.

Here's the retailer's description of the new H&M store: "The new store will include full-priced collections for ladies, men, young ladies and young men, with separate “store within store” sections for accessories, lingerie, sports apparel and maternity. This location will also carry H&M’s fantastic children’s collection, which will feature quality clothing for kids ages newborn to eight, as well as H&M’s plus-size line, H&M+."

So, in the space of a few months, Charlotte will go from being H&M free to a land with Swedish fashion on offer at both its northern and southern shopping malls. Everyone who is a fan of H&M (I have to admit I've only shopped there once, but I'm curious to see more) must be excited.

Except, I can imagine, SouthPark mall. If the city gets a third H&M, do you think that would be a good place for it? Where else would you like to see an H&M, and what other stores do you think Charlotte still lacks?

H&M fast facts: The retailer has 2,900 stores worldwide, including 278 in the U.S., is opening 350 more stores worldwide in 2013 and employs 104,000 people. The company has annual sales of more than $18 billion, and the letters in its name stand for Hennes & Mauritz.


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