Cost-conscious fashionistas rejoice

International fashion retailer H&M is opening a store at the Spokane Valley Mall next month.

That scream you just heard was a collective cheer from just about every teenager across the Inland Northwest.

The store, known for its low-cost yet trendy fashions, will be the company’s first in Eastern Washington. There are five in Western Washington. About 94,000 people work for the company’s 2,600 stores in more than 40 countries.

The Valley store will open at noon on Oct. 25.

René Morris, marketing manager for the mall, said the store targets kids through young adults, but there is something for everyone.

“For those who are very fashion-oriented, want to keep up on the latest trends, it’s going to fill that niche,” Morris said.

“We are very excited to enter Eastern Washington by opening our new location at Spokane Valley Mall,” Daniel Kulle, president of H&M’s stores in the United States, said in a news release. “We look forward to offering new customers our latest collections.”

The store will offer men’s, women’s and children’s clothing as well as accessories and lingerie. Dresses start at $24.95, blouses at $14.95 and men’s jackets at $34.95.

The store will open on the west side of the first floor in a 20,000-square-foot space created by moving seven other retailers to new locations within the mall, Morris said.

For opening day, H&M will offer free T-shirts and other deals to the first 100 customers in line.

Morris said she is expecting shoppers to be there well before the opening.

She said she has received calls from people in Montana and Canada asking if it’s “really true” that the store is opening.

The main draw, she said, is the name, which stands for Hennes & Mauritz. The first store opened in Sweden in 1947.

“The name is very popular,” Morris said. “They have the greatest trendy clothing lines. They’re very fashion forward.”

Store hours will be Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.