H&M, world’s second largest retailer, has decided to expand its portfolio of offerings by selling external brands and products in a test run.
The Swedish retailer’s strategic move will put it in direct competition with other popular multi-brand retailers like Germany’s Zalando and Britain’s ASOS.
Hennes & Mauritz AB, parent group of the 72-year-old core brand H&M, also has newer, smaller brands such as & Other Stories and Arket which are already offering a selection of external brands in addition to their own products.
A company spokesman said that complementing the H&M brand with external brands would most likely attract new shoppers.
Recently H&M reported an 8 per cent increase in sales for Q3 of 2019, for its fifth consecutive quarter, measured in local currencies. The growth was in line with the analysts’ expectations.
[ Read: H&M sees highest sales growth in 3 years in Q3 ]
“The H&M brand will now develop our offer of external brands. The purpose is to complement our offer with external brands to add excitement and energy and we see great opportunities for growth and to find new customers,” said the fashion brand.
Further it said “We have set a first vision on what we would like to do – now we will set the plan on how to test and scale this for H&M.”
