Amid music and the promise of giveaways, shoppers were anxious to get inside once the opening came near. 

Lansing resident John Gadzinski, who hadn't shopped at H&M before, was the first person standing in line. He and his girlfriend, Gina Pellegrino, who is also a Lansing resident, had been waiting at the Meridian Mall entrance since 6 a.m. Thursday. 

Gadzinski said as soon as he entered the store, he would look for some summer clothes to replace the clothes he wore for work as a general contractor.

"I still look like I'm working," he said. 

After standing in line for hours, the wait took a toll on the couple.

"I'm starving, hungry and I have to pee," Pellegrino said. 

All the waiting paid off when Gadzinski received the top prize of $300 off his initial H&M purchase, and Pellegrino won the second place prize of a $200 gift card. Like Gadzinski, Pellegrino had never shopped at H&M before, but said she discovered the store online.

Human biology junior Jenna Melnick got in line at 10 a.m. Thursday morning along with her friend, Lansing Community College junior Ally Miller. 

"We saw a dress in a magazine that we both want, so hopefully it's still there," Miller said.

Since other H&M locations are more than an hour away from Lansing Melnick was excited to see the store open in Lansing.

 "It's nice to have one close now," she said.

Miller said she switched shifts at work just so she could make it to the grand opening. 

Although many shoppers lined up hours beforehand to enter the store, many waited until after the commotion died down.

"We're here for it (the opening)," Haslett High School freshman Leah Winston said. "We just decided not to stay in line because it's long and loud over there." 

In addition to handing out gift cards to shoppers at the front of the line, H&M offered a chance to win a gift card worth up to $100 if shoppers brought their old clothes and recycled them in the store.