New Zealand's first H&M store has opened with a bang.

Hundreds of people were waiting by the time the ribbon was cut at Sylvia Park in Auckland at 10am today.

Some had been in the queue since last night.

Even MP Phil Goff was there this morning - he told our reporter he'd banned his wife and daughter from going in case it cost him a fortune.

Our reporter there said the crowd started gathering an hour before it opened, and the atmosphere was more like a a pop concert than the opening of a clothes store.

Entertainment, including a dance routine by the store's 150 staff, started three hours before the doors opened.

Spokesman for the Sylvia Park mall Karl Retief, said it's been a carnival atmosphere.

"Overnight there were about 50 people on site that were waiting in anticipation for the big opening of the H&M store, and then earlier this morning we had a few hundred people more arrive and at the opening there were several thousand people."

Kiwi Property has invested many millions to provide a store for H&M as well as upgrading adjacent mall areas. Zara opens a store in the mall on October 6.

Sylvia Park sits at the junction of three major highways in Auckland and 12.6 million people visit it each year spending a total of more than $455 million annually.

It is expected H&M will open more stores in New Zealand. It has 10 stores in Australia.

Additional reporting by NZ Newswire