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updated 4 Jul 2012, 17:30
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Mon, Nov 21, 2011
AFP
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Asian shoppers 'fight' over Versace for H&M

It has been reported that fights broke out during the launch of Versace for H&M in China on Thursday, November 17.

The hotly anticipated collaboration finally hit stores in Europe and Asia Thursday, and WWD writes that some shoppers on Shanghai's Huai Hai Lu shopping street ended up in a scuffle.

Some men were allegedly there as professional queuers, waiting on behalf of consumers who didn't want to face the crowds.

"A fight broke out just before the store opened amongst a group of men hired to wait on behalf of shoppers who did not want to stand in the line," reports the publication, adding that some men claimed to be buying as much of the collection as they could to sell on a Chinese website.

This follows last week's reports that a Chinese website called Germany Street was claiming to sell the Versace for H&M line, despite it not being in stores at the time.

In London the launch was said to have gone smoothly, as shoppers abided the timed entry allowance of just ten minutes. Other European cities including Milan and Berlin saw slick launches.

Meanwhile, H&M's website initially crashed this morning due to demand; echoing the Target website meltdown after the Missoni for Target collaboration went on sale in September.

Order has since been restored, with the brand taking to their twitter page to apologize.

"H&M's really sorry for any inconvenience during today's launch of #versaceforhm. We'll look into how we can improve in the future," read the message.

Meanwhile, in a similar fashion to previous H&M collaborations with designers including Jimmy Choo, Lanvin and Sonia Rykiel, auction site eBay is already host to many of the most popular pieces from the Versace for H&M line.

Despite rules limiting shoppers' purchases to try to avoid this, items such as a men's studded leather jacket and a gold luxe minidress are on the site at a significantly marked-up price.

Versace for H&M reached North America on November 19.

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