FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Julie Lin
(212) 645-6900 x145
julie@jerichopr.com
A WHOLE NEW MEANING TO THE TERM:
DRESS DOWN FRIDAYS
Casual Friday Suits My Style
at New H&M Grand Opening Celebration

Woodbridge, NJ, February 27, 2003 – When was the last time you actually wore a suit to work, especially on a Friday? The casualness of today’s work world on Fridays has become an accepted phenomenon across the country. In celebration of H&M’s seventh New Jersey store grand opening, shoppers get the chance to participate in the “Casual Friday Suits My Style” program. This store activity not only benefits a worthy cause but can also help anyone dress in casual style and look great, even if it’s a dress down Friday.

On Friday, March 7 at Noon when the new H&M in New Jersey at Woodbridge Center (250 Woodbridge Center Drive) officially opens, the first 100 shoppers in line that donate a new or like-new business suit, dress, shirt or tie to benefit The Middlesex Interfaith Partners Transitional House will receive a free H&M t-shirt as well as 20% off the purchase of any single item in the store on opening day. Additionally, all gently worn clothing donations will be accepted.

“All year round H&M provides people with clothing that fits their personality,” said Karen Belva, public relations manager at H&M. “For this grand opening celebration we wanted to take the opportunity to help shoppers achieve a great look, even if it is for a “dress down Friday,” and also help benefit a worthy cause in the community.”

The clothing received from shoppers at the grand opening celebration will be laundered and donated to benefit a Gifts in Kind affiliated charity in need, The Middlesex Interfaith Partners Transitional House. This organization serves as a transitional housing program for single-parent families on public assistance and provides comprehensive and coordinated services including child care, job training, parenting assistance and counseling.

With a total of 49 U.S. stores opened since 2000 (including H&M at Woodbridge Center), this new 22,000 square foot H&M store offers high quality, affordable fashion and accessories for men, women and children. H&M Woodbridge Center store hours are Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

H&M is Europe’s leading fashion retailer offering fashion and quality at the best price. Marketing its own brand of clothing with a team of 95 in-house designers, H&M receives daily deliveries of new fashion styles and sells more than 600 million garments a year. H&M opened its first store in Sweden in 1947 and expanded with the first U.S. store on Fifth Avenue in New York City in 2000. Today, H&M has 49 U.S. stores, primarily in the Northeast region, and globally has more than 800 stores in 14 countries. H&M has more than 30,000 employees all working to the same philosophy: to provide fashion and quality at the best price. To visit H&M’s web site please go to http://www.hm.com.

Gifts In Kind International (www.giftsinkind.org), is the world's leading charity in product philanthropy and the 7th largest charity in the United States. Its network of 350-plus affiliates provides nonprofits access to more than $700 million annually in product and service donations. Gifts In Kind International operates at less than 1 percent of the fair market value of products donated, making it one of the most cost-efficient charities in the world.