The year 2015 has been a very expansive year for the Swedish fashion giant H&M as it opened 413 new stores, commenced 10 new online markets, and successfully established stores in the new markets of India, South Africa, Peru, Taiwan and Macau.
The company is now aiming to increase the number of stores by 10 to 15 per cent per year with continued high profitability. China and the US will once again be the markets with the most new stores. In 2016, H&M plans to enter New Zealand, Cyprus and Puerto Rico, which means that by the end of the year, the label will be present in 64 markets. As per the press release issued by H&M, its existing product line too has been widened to further strengthen the retailer’s market position and secure future expansion.
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The primary focus of this expansion will be on COS, a fashion brand for women and men, which will not only open new stores in the existing markets but will also foray into five new markets: the Czech Republic, Romania, Latvia, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, & Other Stories, Monki and Weekday will also grow by opening more stores. H&M Home will also continue its rapid expansion, with around 60 new H&M Home departments.
Elaborating more on the H&M’s accomplishments in the year 2015, Karl-Johan Persson, CEO of the company said, “2015 was another year of rapid expansion and well-received collections for all our brands. Now we are continuing to develop our offering and will open 425 new stores and offer e-commerce in a further nine H&M markets in 2016.”
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Besides this, the fashion retailer reported that its sales surged by 19 per cent to SEK 210 billion (US $ 25.7 billion dollars) including VAT in FY2015. Profit for the fiscal after tax increased to SEK 20.9 billion (US $ 2.5 billion dollars).
