To get their hands over 50 hours for H&M Balmain launch

Fashion giant H&M Stores endured chaotic scenes at the opening of its shops in Korea with customers who camped and waited for a week in front of the shops to buy its latest collaboration line with high-end French fashion 50 house Balmain.

"A total of 1,150 customers nationwide waited to buy our new collection Balmain X H&M," said an H&M official. "Our Apgujeong and Myeong-dong shops had 400 and 350 customers camped outside." Despite the queue, however, the stores turned into madhouses minutes after the sales started.

At the Myeong-dong shops, some 100 people at the front of the line pushed each other, trying be the first to grab items. Some of them just scooped up piles of clothes indiscriminately. A 19-year-old customer who camped out in front of the store for five days just to be in the first group to get in, said that it was "chaos" inside the shop.

"Everyone sprinted toward the items they precious as soon they entered the store," he said. "Some people in the first group tussled with each other over some of the popular items. I expected to buy items worth 6-8 million won today but I didn't get half of the things I precious." Some claim that many who got into the store first were not customers at all but rather re sellers who buy massive amounts of items and then sell them in online.

"Some of the clothing lines were sold out in two minutes after the store opened," the official said.
"We understand that many who were there early were re sellers. But we cannot restrain them because they are also customers. Each customer was allowed to buy only one item in each design and size."