o… it’s finally official. H&M has been open in Melbourne for a little bit more than a week and the lines are still flowing. Last Sunday, I quite stupidly, lined up to have my chance to peek inside H&M. After all the hype and copious amounts of promotion around Melbourne, from the issues of Vogue which contained cute little invites to H&M’s opening to the excessive posters and flags of Miranda Kerr and David Beckham, H&M has truly painted the town red.
The space we once knew as GPO which housed labels such as Acne, Sass & Bide, Willow, and others has completely disappeared without a trace. H&M has made GPO entirely it’s own. From the plants overhanging the balconies to the unification of GPO has one entire space, this space truly now belongs to H&M. The layout of GPO which existed previously, however, was really quite disjointed and really didn’t make any sense. Does anyone remember having to walk in and around the entrance to finally be able to get into Acne? H&M’s layout is much easier to navigate, the entire ground floor is dedicated to womenswear, the first floor is menswear, their home line, and kids. The “middle” floor, (down the back of the GPO building) is more womenswear (sportswear, maternity, and more conservative clothes) as well as lingerie. The use of the space however is really to be expected, it’s just what really does make sense for a building like GPO.
Whilst it’s nice to see that H&M has really made GPO their own, I disagree with their chosen location. GPO, as a space, is culturally aware, it would be nice to see GPO turned into a gallery or contemporary shopping space. I’ve always envisioned GPO to be a much lesser version of the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney. H&M would be better suited to a space in Melbourne’s Emporium (which by the way opens today) and the Strand is also opening soon-ish/some stores have already opened. The reason behind it is this, GPO is rich in heritage and history and it should be honored for that, Emporium is completely new, embraces modernity, and its stores are more high street than high end.
However, I honestly do applaud H&M’s no-bullshit attitude that they’ve taken. Unlike other fast-chain retail stores *cough* Zara and Topshop *cough* H&M has come to Australia declaring that we will be treated equally, giving us a huge range of what H&M has to offer; their home, kids, women and men’s lines. Global pricing has always been one of the biggest issues and because of Australia’s geographic location, we always seem to be a season late and a dollar early, but H&M has made sure that Australia’s consumers aren’t treated this way. The prices vary at H&M, and while you might see in the store window a Kenzo-inspired eye-print skirt for $12.95, that’s not the case inside. There are prices on both ends of the scale, lingerie starting at $7.95 and a fringe jacket retailing for $299.00. H&M honestly isn’t all cheap. I went in, expecting for it to be quite cheap and hopeful that I would find something but H&M just isn’t for me. It was fun to go in and explore but, I don’t think I’ll be returning anytime soon.
It’s funny when I was in line, the girls behind me kept talking about how H&M would affect the David Jones and Myer’s sales but in all honestly, they’re in two completely different leagues in retail. David Jones caters to a more high-end crowd and Myer while more democratic in its approach, is still so different from the likes of H&M. H&M will no doubt affect stores in Australia, perhaps the likes of Sportsgirl and Cotton On. Think of it this way, if you walk into H&M you’ll find mass-produced and mass-consumed apparel, if you walk into David Jones or Myer on Bourke St, the first thing you’re met with is the beauty counters of Chanel, Dior, and MAC among others, so how can we compare them? What will truly endanger DJs and Myer is Sephora’s decision to finally come to Australia and refusing to have counters in either department store.
H&M is after all a fast-fashion retail giant and will be competing in Melbourne with international giants; Zara, Uniqlo, and Topshop and Australian stores; Cotton On, Witchery, Sportsgirl, Dotti, Factorie, Forever New, Mossman and so many more…
The lines of H&M have been because of their international reputation and “cheap” prices. In time, the lines will slow and eventually disappear, but when the hype is over, H&M will truly have taken over Melbourne and Australia’s retail industry.
