H&M profit below expectations

Swedish retailer H&M has reported a net profit growth of 6 percent to SKr 4.3 billion (£319 million) for the fourth quarter. The increase of 6 percent from the same period the previous year before fell far below market expectations of 13 percent. Turnover for the quarter was up 13 percent to SKr 18 billion. The retail chain said that weaker sales at the beginning of the fourth quarter had resulted in increased funding for marketing purposes. It also said that the reintroduction of textile quotas for China had caused the cost of products sold to rise compared with the other quarters. The group did point out that its gross margin of 60 percent had been “very satisfactory”.

With 1200 outlets, the retailer now plans to focus its expansion in the US , Spain , Germany and the UK this year. The competition in these countries is considerable, with Spanish Inditex – owner of chains like Zara and Berschka – proving a formidable competitor. H&M also said that it is planning extensive online and catalogue expansion and would start franchise operations in the Middle East . The first stores in Kuwait and Dubai are due to open in autumn 2006. Last year, H&M opened 145 stores, 23 of which in German where the poor economy is proving quite difficult. Meanwhile full-year turnover amounted to SKr 61.2 billion, up 14 percent from last year.

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26 January 2006

Stella part II

London H&M stores will see a second wave of Stella McCartney products this week. The capsule collection – deemed a great success by the Swedish retailer – has generated overwhelming demand and blanket press coverage, prompting the retailer to reallocate stock to the UK, France and Sweden, countries that have shown “extraordinary” demand.

The second injection will be limited to between 15 and 20 pieces of the 40-piece collection and will not be stocked outside the capital. The five stores are in Brompton Road, Kensington, Brent Cross, Oxford Circus and Oxford Street. Some 21 H&M stores in 18 UK cities carried the initial McCartney launch, but will not receive the second injection.

Stores in Sweden, France and the website are also being allocated extra stock, though it is unclear where it is coming from as demand was high in all countries.
Stella McCartney for H&M launched on November 10 prompting chaotic scenes as many items sold out within hours. Shoppers queued in the early morning in order to grab skinny trousers with ankle zips for £39.99 and chiffon dresses for £59.99. Stella McCartney is reported to be focusing on her accessory and shoe lines and the collaboration with H&M is expected to be a one-off.

Stella frenzy at H&M

Minutes before opening time a sizeable group of Dutch Stella McCartney fans waits patiently outside one of the H&M's stores in the country's capital. “It's not that busy yet, is it,” one girl mutters to a friend. Could it be that Stella does not possess the pulling power that her predecessor Karl Lagerfeld did? However, once the doors open and the masses start swarming in from all three entrances, all doubt over Stella's popularity is swept aside.

Within minutes, the racks are empty – literally. Shoppers have grabbed piles of Stella's silk tops and dresses, skinny jeans and blouson jackets without looking at sizes or styles. “It's just like with Lagerfeld. We had expected craziness, but it's still a strange sight to behold,” says an employee of the mass hysteria as a second round of clothes is rolled onto the shop floor. “The shoppers just grab all the clothes they can and then go to the back of the store to sort through their winnings.”

One shopper refuses to relinquish a chiffon top. “It's not my size, but I'm keeping it anyway,” she says without shame. The message is obvious. Everyone wants to own a Stella McCartney for H&M original. The exclusivity is twofold: it's designer clothing and it's a one-off collection. It doesn't get much better than this.

In London, the queues are naturally longer – Stella is a national treasure - and the success of the line is just as great, if not greater than that of Karl Lagerfeld. Stella, with her posse of glamorous girlfriends like Kate Moss and Gwyneth Paltrow, represents contemporary fashion and everyone wants a piece of her. And with her affordable line for H&M, those who could only stare wistfully at her clothes in shop windows, can now acquire that glamour. There is nothing more seductive than that. Many shoppers even forget that Stella's signature skinny pants are not designed for women with real curves, but for impossibly thin, tall models – and even then, they do not enhance the figure. But who cares when it's a Stella original?

This is the strength of the collaborations H&M has sought with star designers like Stella McCartney and Karl Lagerfeld. The retailer recognizes that today's consumers are seduced as much by a name as by a solid product, and by creating one-off collections, retailer and designer alike create a frenzied shopping spree.

Who will be next on H&M's list of designers? Will there be another collaboration of this sort? I am personally hoping for Alber Elbaz. How about you?

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10 November 2005

H&M to replace Kate Moss with Italian Model

Hennes & Mauritz have confirmed they will use Italian model Mariacarla Boscono to help launch a new collection, replacing Britain‘s Kate Moss, who was dropped after reports of her cocaine use. However, posters and newspaper ads for the collection will not feature any model, Asarnoj said. "We have chosen a graphical solution for those instead."

Moss had issued a public apology, taking "full responsibility for my actions," but stopped short of admitting she had used cocaine. McCartney, daughter of former Beatle Paul McCartney , will design a limited women‘s collection of about 40 items that will go on sale in 400 stores on Nov. 10.

26 October 2005

H&M launches limited jewellery range

Collaborations with designers appear to be working for Hennes & Mauritz. The Swedish fashion chain will be launching yet another limited designer collection with a jewellery range by jeweller Solange Azagury-Partridge. Azagury-Partridge is the former creative director of luxury jeweller Boucheron, which is owned by the French luxury conglomerate PPR. She will be designing about 40 pieces for the limited H&M collection, which will launch on 25 November, only two weeks after Stella McCartney's collection for H&M hits the shops.

This collaboration is thought to be the first time a luxury jeweller works together with a mass-market chain and reflects the growing taste of consumers for designer products at cheaper prices. Although British chains like Debenhams and M&S have made the same type of partnerships in the UK , H&M is the only one to do so on an international scale; the Stella McCartney collection will be sold in 400 shops in 22 countries. In an interview with the Financial Times earlier this month, H&M chief executive Rolf Eriksen told the FT that collaborations with designers blurred the boundaries between luxury goods and mass-market products.

“Customers are buying something from Prada or something like that and buying a shirt from H&M or something from Tesco. What lots of customers want is value for money and quality and they are mixing much more. Design is not just a matter of price.” According to Azagury-Partridge the word ‘luxury', in the traditional sense, is becoming “increasingly meaningless”.

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26 October 2005

H&M to open Regent Street store

H&M are in negotiations to open their biggest UK store yet on London's Regent Street. The Swedish fashion chain is in talks with the Dickins & Jones site to take space in part of the 275,000 sq ft department store. Dickins & Jones is to be transformed into three separate retail units across three floors.

H&M's previous attempts to enter the street had been thwarted by The Crown Estate, which owns large parts of Regent Street. The profile of Regent Street – as was said at the time - was to be different from Oxford Street with original retail concepts and more up-market stores than the high street. House of Fraser will trade from the Dickins & Jones store until January.

H&M disappoints in September

Swedish fashion chain Hennes and Mauritz surprised investors on Monday when it posted lower-than-expected sales growth in September. Sales rose 7 percent in September, as opposed to 17 percent in August and 10 percent in September of last year. Analysts had predicted a growth of between 13 and 15 percent. The company blamed the “unusually warm weather” in Europe for the poor sales of outdoor and knitted clothing – especially in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

The news stunned the group, which had told investors during the release of its third-quarter results that the autumn collections were selling well. The retailer reported a rise in pre-tax profits to £24 million, on a turnover up 18 percent of £37 million. Not only the warm weather, but also the rising oil prices have had a negative effect on retailing, with consumers spending less as a result. European retail sales fell in September.

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17 October 2005

H&M move production out of China

Fast fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz has moved some of its production out of China, Chief Executive Officer Rolf Eriksen said Wednesday. Eriksen was speaking at a press conference after the release earlier Wednesday of the company's third-quarter results. Sweden was among those hit when European Union authorities declared some temporary quotas on Chinese imports had been reached, leaving hundreds of thousands of items stranded in warehouses and out of reach of retailers' clothes racks.

After several weeks of intense negotiations, trade officials reached an agreement with China but the episode has left retailers doubtful of the E.U.'s commitment to permanently lift all quotas in a few years. Many are looking for sourcing opportunities outside China.

H&M investor-relations spokesman Carl-Henric Enhoerning said there had been a positive effect due to the lifting of some of the quota restrictions. But he said this positive effect will level off in the fourth quarter and disappear during the first three quarters of the 2006 fiscal year. Lower quota-related costs helped push H&M's third-quarter gross margin up 2.9 percentage points to 58.8%, which beat market expectations.

30 September 2005

H&M sees profits rise

Swedish fashion chain Hennes & Mauritz has posted a 36 percent climb in third quarter profits, amidst worries over new quotas on Chinese imports. The company, which recently dropped Kate Moss as the face of one of its ad campaigns when her alleged cocaine habit hit the papers, said that it had benefited from a good line of stock in the spring and summer seasons and had limited its mark down of stock during the sales. Furthermore, it said that the autumn collections had “started well”.

The company unveiled pre-tax profits for the three months to 31 August of SKr3.32 billion (£240 million). Turnover was up 18 percent at SKr15.16 billion. Gross margin improved by 2.9 percentage points to 58.8 percent, partly due to better cost control and an improvement in way stock was purchased.

H&M did show concern about the limitation of Chinese imports, stating that this “makes the buying process somewhat more difficult and can in a shorter perspective have a negative influence on the gross profit”. In the long term H&M said it did not expect this to have negative knock-on effects on the group's results.

www.hm.com
28 September 2005

In response to the enduring popularity of jeans, Swedish retail chain H&M is launching a new jeans brand called &denim next month. The new brand, which will be made available in special &denim departments within H&M stores, will offer approximately 100 different jeans per season for both men and women. “ Jeans are the number one staple garment for most of us,” says H&M design director Margareta van den Bosch. “With &denim, we are improving the fit and quality of our jeans and offering our customers a larger, sharper and more versatile selection.”

Jorgen Andersson, marketing director for H&M, adds: “&denim is not just a collection. It's a brand. And since a pair of jeans is the only kind of clothing where true feelings are involved, we want to create a soulful brand over time.” The new concept is being underlined by a six-minute promotional film, which was shot on the streets of New York . Filmed as a tragic modern love story, the film is accompanied by songs from the musical Dreamgirls, which are performed by Tamyra Gray and Mary J. Blige.

“There's enough comedy in advertising today,” says Andersson. “And jeans are not about laughs, jeans are love and soul and tears. That's what we're trying to emphasize with this tragic and beautiful Romeo & Juliet story.” The film was filmed by H&M Red Room and renowned director/photographer David LaChapelle. It will run in cinemas worldwide, but the company refuses to reveal the ending but did say: “Every pair of &denim jeans is the start of another true denim love story.”

www.hm.com
23 August 2005

Spanish Eyes

Luis Garcia, the Spanish footballer at Liverpool FC, is the new face of H&M. With his sultry good looks, he appears to be the right choice for modelling the high street fashion label's suits. Garcia appears in a number of H&M ads sporting slick, tailored suits. “If there is one type of clothing that H&M used to be less associated with than others, it was more formal clothing such as suits,” H&M announced. “But over the last few years we have worked hard to change that.”

The collection consists of suits in black, brown, grey and tweed of a superior quality wool and are worn with 100 per cent cotton shirts. “We also believe strongly in matching shirts and ties in the same colour this fall,” said design director Margareta van den Bosch.

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22 August 2005

H&M Continues Europe Expansion

Leading high street retailer H&M statedsales rose 18 percent in June after the company added stores in the U.S. and Europe. The increase was bigger than the 15 percent gain expected by analysts, according to the median of 14 estimates gathered before today's report by SME Direkt. The Swedish retailer also posted an 18 percent gain for May. `This was a very strong result and reflects that the summer collection continues to be received very well,'' said Peter Brockwell, an analyst at West LB Equity Markets in London with a `neutral'' rating on the stock. Sales in June 2004 rose 15 percent from a year earlier.

The company is opening stores in cities such as San Francisco and Budapest as economic growth slows in parts of Western Europe. H&M, based in Stockholm, added 128 outlets in the year through June, a 13 percent increase. Inditex SA, the Spanish owner of the Zara chain and the Swedish retailer's main rival, is focusing its expansion on Western Europe rather than the U.S. or Eastern Europe.

Shares of H&M rose 1.5 kronor, or 0.5 percent, to 278.5 kronor at 10:12 a.m. in Stockholm. The stock has gained 47 percent in the past year, the third-biggest climb in the 20- member Bloomberg Europe Retail Index, while Inditex shares have added 15 percent. The retailer in June began selling a collection of swimwear and accessories created by Elio Fiorucci, the Italian designer who organized the opening of New York discotheque Studio 54 in 1977. A one-time collection by designer Stella McCartney will go on sale in November.

The alliance with McCartney follows a similar initiative last year, when the company signed up Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld to create a collection. Lagerfeld's line sold out within hours at some stores, helping to increase sales rise at the fastest monthly pace in two years. H&M is cutting prices on basic garments while adding more higher-margin apparel such as tailored clothes and jeans to its mix, Chief Financial Officer Leif Persson said June 22.

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15 July 2005

H&M See Further Sales Growth

Europe's largest fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz met second-quarter expectations with a 34 per cent rise in pre-tax profit, fuelled by higher sales and improved gross margins. But the UK was one of its weaker markets for sales over the period. The Swedish chain, reaped a £260 million pre-tax profit, compared to £190m a year earlier. H&M said May sales were up 18 per cent against a forecast of 15 per cent, showing that not everyone was feeling the effects of the consumer slowdown. Gross margin was up 1.7 per cent on the same period last year to 60.1 per cent. In a statement the company attributed this improvement in its second quarter, which runs to the end of May, to "lower quota costs, lower dollar rate and also lower price reductions".

H&M said new collections introduced during the second quarter were well received by consumers, and helped boost the quarter's operating margin to 22.8 per cent, a best for the company. The company's improved clothing sales come after it reported a slowdown at the start of the year. It said: "Well-received collections have contributed to the group's best operating margin in a second quarter." Main competitor Inditex, which owns the Zara chain, posted a pre-tax profit in the February-April period of £119.8 million and its gross margin was 55.7 per cent. Inditex blamed a poor choice of designs for its weak start to the second quarter. H&M said it would open up to 90 stores during the remainder of the year, mainly in Britain, the United States, Germany, Spain and Poland.

The Swedish fashion giant registered 53 per cent growth in the Spanish market, 18 per cent in Germany, 13 per cent in the US, nine per cent in Sweden - but only six per cent in the UK. Over the past six months, H&M opened 62 new shops, of which 13 are in Germany, seven are in Poland, five are in the UK and four in Spain, France, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Italy. The retailer - whose range extends from underwear to suits and which has featured collections designed by Karl Lagerfeld and shortly by Stella McCartney - said it had enjoyed good development in all its markets this spring.

www.hm.com
24 June 2005

H&M releases H1 report

Swedish retailer H&M has released its half-year report for the period 1 December 2004 till 31 May 2005. The company has reported that well received collections have contributed to the Group's best operating margin in a second quarter. Turnover for the H&M group, excluding VAT, amounted to GBP 24,981 million, an increase of 12 per cent. With comparable currency rates, this represents an increase of 13 per cent.

Group profit after estimated tax was GBP 2,923 million, corresponding with GBP 3,53 per share. Turnover for the second quarter, excluding VAT, amounted to GBP 13,225 million, an increase of 17 per cent compared with last year. Turnover for the month of May increased by 18 per cent, with comparable currency rates.

www.hm.com
22 June 2005

Fiorucci design at H&M

H&M has commissioned Elio Fiorucci to design a 'Limited Edition' summer collection. In addition, Fiorucci has also included accessories for men, women and children.

A colaboration between the two parties has been in the cards ever since the Swedish retail chain purchased the Fiorucci store in Milan in 2003. And the time has finally come for the collection to hit the stores. Creative director for H&M, Margareta van den Bosch, was delighted witht the collection, which is inspired by the 70s. Bright colours and cheerful prints give it a summery feeling.

The collection consists of about 100 items and is available in H&M stores from 2 June 2005. So have fun shopping for limited edition H&M Fiorucci items.

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2 June 2005

H&M In Trademark Infringement Case

Swedish retail giant Hennes & Mauritz is being sued by a Japanese company for trademark infringement. H&M's head of design, Margaretha van den Bosch and marketing director Jörgen Andersson will give evidence today before a court hearing in New York. Italian designer Elio Fiorucci has been engaged by H&M to design part of their summer fashion range. This has prompted Edwin, a Japanese jeans producer, to react, as they in fact acquired the Fiorucci brand at the beginning of the nineties.

The Japanese firm launched a case against H&M in the US and demanded that sales of the disputed garments and the related marketing campaign be discontinued in America. They have not claimed any damages from H&M however. "Elio Fiorucci has designed for us as a private individual and his clothes only constitute a part of our summer collection which is being sold under the brand H&M Poolside," stated marketing boss Jörgen Andersson.

H&M have ceased all marking activities relating to the Fiorucci garments in the U.S. Europe is not affected and consumers here have recently begun to see adverts. The approximately 100 articles should be in H&M's circa 1000 stores from the start of June.

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22 May 2005

BT signs with H&M

BT announced the signature of a three year contract with H&M, the Swedish-owned, international fashion retailer, covering the management and development of its global data communication network. H&M currently operates 1,100 stores across the world, and for the 2003/04 fiscal year, the H&M Group reported earnings after taxes of approximately €800 million.

Under the terms of the agreement, BT will supervise and manage the fashion giant's global data communication across 25-30 country locations, utilising BT's network and MPLS technology.BT will also conduct a technical upgrade of H&M's network, providing access to more bandwidth. Such improvements are in line with H&M's objective to streamline data centres and applications to allow the organisation's IT infrastructure to better support its business objectives.

Anders Westkämper, BT Nordics Country manager comments: "An increasing number of Scandinavian companies with international activities are looking at improving their network and communication services. H&M is a typical example of the way business can benefit the most from utilising a single provider with a global network. A similar agreement was officially concluded with Volvo about one month ago and we are delighted to see another great international brand with Scandinavian roots trusting BT with their communication services.

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15 May 2005

H&M glamour launch

Swedish fashion chain H&M is to launch its new Knightsbridge shop with a shot of glamour tomorrow night. To honour the occasion a fabulous party will be thrown, with pop stars and supermodels galore. Lisa Moorish and Tyler James will be performing, Queens of Noize will do the djing and a host of beauties are featured on the guest list. Saffron Aldridge, Jasmine Guinness, Liberty Ross, Lisa Butcher, Daisy and Poppy de Villeneuve, Iris Palmer and Natasha Law are expected to attend. For once the high street will be able to give Bond Street a run for its money.

www.hm.com
22 March 2005

H&M sues Primark

The Swedish high-street fashion chain Hennes & Mauritz is suing British value retail chain Primark for plagiarising clothing pattersn on dresses, shirts and babywear. Primark is being accused of copying H&M's dragon and flame pattern, a particular floral print, a Petrol Club branded badge design, a graffiti pattern and a target-style design.

This court case marks a new phase for fashion legislation. Last year the courts were advised to use new European regulations that protect designers' rights and this is the first case of its kind. H&M currenly operates around 945 stores in 18 countries, half of which are in Europe. Primark, which is owned by British Associated Foods, operates more than 115 stores in the UK and Ireland. It is momentarily focusing on European expansion.

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www.primark.co.uk
10 March 2005

H&M Accuses Primark Of Stealing Designs

High street conglomerate Hennes & Mauritz and budget chain Primark are locked in a legal battle after the Swedish retailer alleged its styles had been copied. Primark, according to H&M, has copied motifs, prints and designs used on fashions ranging from shirts and dresses to a baby's sleepsuit, the company has stated.

It is suing for damages in one of the first major cases after a landmark judgment last year in which the courts encouraged designers to use new European rules protecting designers' rights not to be copied. H&M claims Primark copied a Chinese-style dragon and flame pattern, a target-style design, a graffiti pattern, a Petrol Club-branded badge design and a floral print.

Most accusations of plagiarism in fashion are settled before lawsuits are filed, but a number of cases are now expected as big designers head to the courts to try their luck under the new laws. A limited amount of copying is accepted in the fashion world as, by its very nature, a look becomes trendy when lots of people wear it. But designers do sometimes take umbrage when they feel a rival's copying is hurting their sales.

www.hm.com
8 March 2005

H&M sales growth

Swedish fashion group H&M has reported 5 per cent sales growth in January, a sharp drop over the 12 per cent increase seen in December.
H&M said that 'calendar effects', and the impact of New Year holiday closures in the various countries in which it operates, had a negative sales impact of about 5 per cent in January.

During 2005, H&M plans to add up to 155 stores to its 1,000-plus worldwide total, with 12 earmarked for closure. The openings will include three stores in Ireland and one in Hungary, both new markets for the retailer.

www.hm.com
16 February 2005

H&M fastest growth

The Swedish high-street fashion chain H&M is one of the world's 50 fastest growing retail companies, according to accounting firm Deloitte. Since 1998 H&M sales have increased by just over 16 per cent per year.

"H&M's success lies in a strong focus on clothes. Retailers who take on too many concepts have not been so successful," explained Lars Egenäs at Deloitte in Sweden.

www.hm.com
8 February 2005

H&M Sees Profits Through Lagerfeld

Swedish fashion chain Hennes & Mauritz has seen fourth-quarter profits rise 22% - boosted by strong demand for its premium-priced Karl Lagerfeld range. The range of coats, frocks, blouses and skirts by Chanel designer Lagerfeld sold out within hours of its November launch in some stores.

The company's use of a named designer proved controversial after Lagerfeld implied he was used to designing for models rather than H&M usual customers. But the company and the designer appeared to reconcile their differences. Profits for the company came in at £210m and sales in the three months to the end of November rose by14%. H&M's fourth-quarter profits were above expectations and its shares, which are listed on the OM Stockholm Stock Exchange, closed nearly 1% higher on Friday. In the US, a key market, the company said fourth-quarter sales were up 24% in dollar terms.

H&M now has more than 1,000 stores around the world, adding Canadian and Slovenian sites during the year, as well as continuing to expand in Poland, the Czech Republic, Portugal and Italy. During this year, it will open at least 145 new stores - including its first in Dublin and Hungary - and close 12, it said.

For the full year, net profits rose 15% to 7.27 billion kronor. Sales for the year increased by 11%, to 53.7 billion kronor, excluding sales tax. The company said it had benefited from a weaker dollar and improved controls on production which had enabled it to lower prices to customers while increasing gross profits.

www.hm.com
28 January 2005

H&M sales are up

The Swedish high street retailer H&M has reported a 24% increase in sales for November 2004, mainly thanks to the enormous response to the 'Karl Lagerfeld for H&M' collection.

The capsule collection was sold in about half of the 1,000 H&M stores worldwide and is expected to generate additional sales of between EUR33 million (GBP 23.5 million) and EUR45 million until Christmas Eve, when sale of the collection will end. There will be no further collaboration between the two parties. November sales have seen their strongest growth in two years, and also trumped October 2004 sales, which rose by 9%.

www.hm.com
16 December 2004

H&M Europe's Fashion Favourite?

The Swedish fashion chain Hennes & Mauritz is about to pass Marks & Spencer and become Europe's biggest clothing retailer. A report by the market research group Mintel says that H&M will become the new M&S within a year if the Stockholm-based chain keeps up its current strong rate of growth.

While H&M boosted its sales by more than 70% between 1999 and 2003, neither M&S - Europe's largest clothing retailer - nor second-placed C&A increased sales in that period, Mintel said. "With H&M performing that much stronger than both C&A and M&S, it will not be long before H&M is crowned king of clothing."

H&M is one of two companies that have far outperformed the rest of the sector in recent years. The other is the Spanish Inditex group, which owns the Zara retail chain. Esprit and Matalan also stood out from their peers in terms of sales growth, Mintel said. "What sets these chains apart is their flexibility and speed in terms of turnaround from design to product to shop floor. Younger, fashion-conscious consumers have come to expect these dynamic, flexible techniques."

The study also shows that clothing still accounts for more than half of consumer spending in most European countries, but that supermarkets are taking a larger share of the market. Asda and Tesco took almost 5% of the UK clothing market in 2003 and Tesco is now the number one clothing retailer in the Czech Republic and a major player in Hungary. (The Guardian)

www.hm.com
18 november 2004

H&M Report Lower Than Expected Sales Rise

Swedish clothing retailer Hennes & Mauritz today disappointed investors with a lower-than-expected rise in sales last month.The Stockholm-based group said turnover in September increased by 10 per cent, below the 16 per cent that analysts had forecast, but higher than last year's 6 per cent. Shares in the group sank 4 per cent in morning trading.

H&M said weak sales in the first two weeks of September were followed by a good increase in the rest of the month. The group said last month that sales at its 86 stores in the UK totalled 1.35 billion Swedish kronor (£102m/€148m) during the three months to August 31 - a performance helped by the opening of seven stores over the last year. The figures put the UK on course to become H&M's second largest market. Only Germany, where the company has 250 branches, generates more revenue.

The group has 70 stores in the US and plans to move into the Irish Republic and Hungary next year. H&M, which opened its first store in Sweden in 1947, beat market expectations with an 18% rise in profits to 2.45 billion Swedish kronor (£186m/€269.9m) between June and August. H&M began trading in its 20th market during August when its first store in Slovenia opened its doors to shoppers.

The group is planning to speed up its store openings in the final quarter with around 65 new outlets, almost matching its expansion programme during the first nine months of the year. Most of the new stores will be in Germany, although five more outlets are planned for the UK in the final quarter with up to another 12 in the next financial year.

www.hm.com
15 October 2004

H&M In Portuguese Acquisition

Swedish fashion retailer Hennes and Mauritz is reported to be in talks to acquire Portugese clothing chain Macmoda. H&M, which already has five stores in Portugal, has opened preliminary negotiations with Maconda, which operates Macmoda, the company which owns the 35-strong chain, according to a report in Portugese newspaper newspaper Expresso.

Macmoda is Portugal's largest clothing retail chain, operating in the country's main shopping centres. While H&M has tended to grow organically, an acquisition would boost its presence in the southern European heartland of 'fast fashion' rival Inditex, which operates the Zara chain. The newspaper reported that the deal would be worth around 70 million euros, quoting Maconda director Ricardo Tavares, who said: "Macmoda is not for sale but in business everything has its price."

www.hm.com
28 September 2004

H&M Opens 1000th Store

H&M, the Swedish high street retailer is embarking on a global promotional campaign to mark the opening of its 1,000th store. The store, which opens today in Boulogne-sur-Mer in France, has sparked a celebration and special offers extended to all the Group's stores in each of its 19 operating countries.

In the run-up to Christmas, H&M will be opening a new store every other day, and over the past three years has increased its number of stores by nearly 40 per cent, increased turnover by nearly 60 per cent and profit after tax by 150 per cent.

www.hm.com
25 August 2004

Sales Rise At H&M

Hennes & Mauritz, Europe's largest clothing retailer, said sales in July rose 14 percent as it increased the total number of stores by 11 percent by expanding in markets such as the US and Canada. Revenue excluding currency movements decelerated from June's 15 percent gain, the Stockholm-based company said in a statement on Waymaker. Analysts expected a 15 percent increase, according to the median estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by SME Direkt.

Hennes and Inditex, a Spanish competitor, are expanding in new markets to generate more profit. The Swedish company is focusing on countries such as the US, Poland and the Czech Republic, selling clothes such as sleeveless women's tops for as low as 2.90 euros and bikinis for 4.99 euros.

www.hm.com
18 August 2004

H&M Partnership with UNICEF

UNICEF announced today a new partnership with Swedish fashion retailer H&M. The high street conglomerate have donated USD1.5m towards girls' education programmes worldwide and HIV/Aids prevention programmes in Cambodia.

The donation, which will be given over a three-year period will support UNICEF's initiative for accelerating girls' education in order to help girls obtain the same access to basic education as boys. Currently there are 121 million children out of school, and most of them are girls.

For H&M, the alliance with UNICEF highlights the company's supportive and responsible global role."The new partnership communicates the importance of social responsibility for H&M, its employees and customers," said Rolf Eriksen, CEO of H&M. "The presence of H&M on four continents makes us sensitive to cultural differences," said Eriksen. "For us it means respect for human rights and the responsibility for the effects of our business on the local environment."

www.hm.com
7 July 2004

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