Update: Carolina Place H&M opening delayed until January

Apparel retailer H&M appears to have jumped the gun with its announcement this week of a December opening date for its Carolina Place location: The company now says the store won't open until January.

A public relations person working for H&M said Monday that the H&M store opening was set for Dec. 12. But on Tuesday, Carolina Place officials said the opening had been pushed back, and H&M now said January 16 is the expected date.

Even though it will come after the peak holiday shopping season, the opening is still likely to draw big crowds of eager shoppers.

The area's first H&M store opened Nov. 14 at Northlake Mall. As my colleague Hillary Trenda reported, hundreds of people waited in line - some for hours - in the cold for the chance to shop.

People shopping at the Northlake store on opening day

No further details on the Carolina Place store's opening were immediately available Monday. But like the Northlake store, shoppers who get in line early should probably expect some free T-shirts and "Fashion Passes" worth tens or even hundreds of dollars.

The Carolina Place H&M is smaller than the Northlake store, at about 17,000 square-feet vs. almost 26,000. There's still no official confirmation yet on the long-rumored SouthPark H&M store (anyone heard anything? Drop me a line).


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