Dressed in warm winter clothing, draped in a blanket, Kennedy and Chris camped out overnight to be the first people inside the brand new outlet mall near the Edmonton International Airport.
“It was spontaneous adventure. Definitely it was for giveaways. We really needed to come,” Kennedy said early Wednesday morning.
READ MORE: How to get to the outlet mall near the Edmonton International Airport
The Premium Outlet Collection Edmonton International Airport shopping centre opened its doors at 10 a.m. Kennedy and Chris were in line at midnight, excited to be part of the opening day experience.
“It was pretty cold,” Chris said of their night outside.
“We were the only ones here for quite a while so it got pretty cold but we took turns sleeping and took turns looking after our stuff and made it through the night.”
It worked out in their favour. By 7 a.m. the lineup of shoppers wrapped around the building.
Watch below: Chopper video of the lineup of shoppers at the Premium Outlet Collection Edmonton International Airport shopping centre just before 10 a.m. Wednesday.
Cheerleaders and circus performers met shoppers as they crashed through the doors, hoping the get their hands on opening-day bargains.
Beyond the sales, the first 1,000 people through the doors received a $50 gift card for the outlet mall.
“It feels amazing. It’s come a long way. A lot of hard work has gone into this, a lot of late nights. We’re extremely happy to be here today,” general manager Jason Bos said.
READ MORE: Outlet mall at Edmonton airport blends online and in-store shopping
Bos said the goal is all about providing shoppers with an experience, including a place to spend time while waiting for a flight at the nearby EIA.
“Anyone can go online and buy something but you can’t get an experience from the internet, so that’s what we’re looking to provide with the shopping centre.”
The mall comes equipped with flight-status screens. Direct parcel shipping is also available for those who don’t want to carry their purchases on the plane or in their checked baggage.
“We feel like we’ve built something special with a lot of special amenities for our shoppers,” he said. “We’ve got things such as a luggage check, a refresh room — so if people have a long layover they can refresh themselves, relax, unwind. Realistically, we’re looking to make this a seamless shopping experience for anyone, whether it’s a local or a tourist.”
Watch below: Mall general manager Jason Bos speaks about what makes the outlet mall different than other shopping experiences in the Edmonton area.
Police and peace officers, as well as parking staff, were on site Wednesday morning and will remain at the mall through the weekend to help direct traffic. The airport’s Emergency Operations Centre will also be open, in order to deal with any issues that may arise.
The 428,000-square-foot mall will eventually be home to more than 100 retailers and six anchor tenants, including H&M, a Nike Factory Store and Marshalls. Some of the stores, including Marshalls, will not open until the summer.
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