Country: Sweden

Swedish fashion brand KappAhl has announced its financial results for the second quarter. During the period under review, the fashion retailer’s sales increased by 6.5 per cent; and by 7.4 per cent in the first half of the fiscal.

“In the second quarter of 2016-2017 our continued  clarification of the collections together with our price and campaign strategy contributed to increased sales of 6.5 per cent compared with the previous year, of which the increase in comparable stores was 1.9 per cent,” said Danny Feltmann, President and CEO in a statement issued by the company.

The gross margin was positively affected by continued work on the pricing and campaign strategies. Operating profit improved and was SEK 47 million for the quarter as against SEK 31 million and SEK 190 million for the half year versus SEK 148 million in the first half of prior year.  

Also Read – Fashion retailer KappAhl’s net sales jumps 8.3%

KappAhl, founded in 1953 in Gothenburg, is one of the leading Nordic fashion chains with nearly 380 stores in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Poland as well as Shop Online. In 2015-2016, its sales were SEK 4.7 billion and the number of employees was about 4,000 in nine countries.

Stockholm-based fashion house, Acne Studios has decided to refurbish their denim collection as a standalone line that is called Acne Studios Blå Konst. The name literally translates from Swedish to ‘Blue Art’ and the entire vertical will be committed to the study of denim.

“The name has a feeling of free expression, which is how I like to view denim. Jeans are garments that we all wear, and wear most often. In them we all live our lives, and I wanted Blå Konst to have all the specific detail, but also the anonymity, so that whoever wears them can make them their own,” described Jonny Johannson, Creative Director of Acne Studios.

Also Read – Guess focuses on performance denims for European markets

Available from 6 April, the latest collection will feature six style of clean denim jeans and minimal detailing designer by the founder of Acne Studios himself. An assortment of reimagined denim jackets, denim shorts and skirts will be a part of this line. The collection will serve as compliment to Acne’s current offering and will draw inspirations from Swedish outdoors and the functional aspects of uniforms.

“I love to bring a basic and universal staple wear from underdog position to an artistic level. I see the wearer as an artist, as she patiently crafts her own garments into something distinct. I also spend so much time in the Swedish countryside, and love the clarity of what you wear there”, explained Jonny Johannson, Creative Director of the brand.

There is a visible surge in luxury moving towards active and healthy lifestyle inspired collections, so it comes as little surprise to see Sweden-based GANT releasing a Spring/Summer 2017 collection, created solely to solve problems of the bicycling community. “We have combined the functionality and technical qualities of cycling gear with preppy Gant elements and effortless design, creating innovative products that enable the consumer to commute actively,” claims Matthew Wood, Creative Director of GANT.

The collection called ‘Get Into Gear’ by the brand or simply put, the commuter capsule comes with a limited edition bike designed in collaboration with BikeID. The Gant x BikeID commuter bike exhibits upbeat features such as an iPhone front mount for GPS and built-in LED waterproof lights on the seat post for better night time visibility.

The most noteworthy pieces from the collections are the Commuter Blazer that is made from waterproof fabric with laser-cut ventilation under the arm opening and reflective details as well as the Commuter Denim Shirt made in soft stretchable cotton oxford fabric with enhancements for greater mobility. Last but not the least, is the Commuter Jean featuring smart cooling solutions as well as reflective details and water repellent fabric to stay safe from spring showers.

Also Read – GANT deploys Centric PLM 8 to double revenue by 2020

The ‘Get Into Gear’ capsule collection will start selling in stores and online from April this year, and the GANT x BIKEID bicycle will be available on BIKEID’s website starting April with a limited stock.

1. The H&M Group has 4,351 stores in 64 countries and e-commerce presence in 35 markets across the globe. The fashion brand is on top with 3,962 stores while the Group’s other brands like COS has 195; Monki 118; & Other Stories 45; Weekday 28; and Cheap Monday has 4.

2. In 2016, the Group’s total sales including VAT totalled SEK 223 billion; up 6 per cent when compared to 2015. Its profit after financial items however dropped 12 per cent.

3. There are three countries, each having more than 400 H&M stores – US in on top with 468 stores while Germany and China have 459 and 444 stores, respectively. Germany is also a top market for the company in terms of sales, while China is on fifth number.

Also Read – H&M confirms new brand launch

4. The Group worldwide has 161,000 employees. Around 75 per cent of the average number of employees were women and 25 per cent were men. While in India, where it has 12 stores, out of its total 989 employees, 59 per cent are male.

5. In 2016, 96 per cent of the electricity the fashion brand uses is renewable. Besides, 5,888 tonnes of textiles were collected for reuse and recycling last year. Similarly, 43 per cent of its product range was made with cotton from sustainable sources.

Fashion retail industry’s giant H&M is bringing a new brand called ‘Arket’ to the mass market. The new brand, which will sell womenswear, menswear, kids wear as well as home products, is set at a higher price point compared to the Group’s namesake label and will focus on creating simple timeless classics. The move confirms their announcement from last year regarding the announcement of the launch of one or two brands in 2017.

Also Read – H&M unveils new Conscious Exclusive Collection

Arket, which sounds like market and literally translates from Swedish to ‘a sheet of paper’, signals the optimistic quality of a new beginning for the Group. It is also a metaphor for the brand’s inspiration set in their Nordic roots focussing on functionality and long-lasting design. The first store will open in London with an initial aim to expand all over Europe through more stores as well as online sales. In addition, the new brand will offer a richer retail experience wherein some Arket stores will be based around a niche café concept where you can shop and gobble on modern Nordic cuisine in the same place.

H&M’s umbrella already shelters a range of different brands namely & Other Stories, Cheap Monday, COS, Monki, and Weekday. Karl-Johan Persson, President of H&M said in a statement, “Ten years ago the first COS store opened, and since then we have added a number of new brands to the H&M group. Each with its own unique profile, our brands attract customers in various different segments.”

H&M, the Swedish multinational fast fashion retailer, has recently announced its financial results for the first quarter ended 28 February 2017. During the period under review, H&M Group’s sales including VAT amounted to SEK 54,369 million (50,624), an increase of 7 per cent.

Sales excluding VAT amounted to SEK 46,985 million (43,691), an increase of 8 per cent. Sales in local currencies increased by 4 per cent in the first quarter while gross profit increased to SEK 24,466 million (22,699). This corresponds to a gross margin of 52.1 per cent (52.0).

The fashion brand’s sales including VAT in the period 1 March to 28 March 2017 increased by 7 per cent in local currencies compared to the same period the previous year.

The fashion retailer will open five new physical store markets one each in Colombia, Iceland, Vietnam and Georgia. Under the expansion plan it has inaugurated its first store in Kazakhstan in mid-march.

In addition, H&M plans to continue its online roll-out into six new markets: Turkey, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Malaysia which are planned to open during the first half of 2017.

Also Read – H&M opens first store in Kazakhstan

Karl-Johan Persson, CEO said, “We have seven brands today – H&M, COS, & Other Stories, Monki, Weekday, Cheap Monday and H&M Home – and soon it will be time for our next exciting launch, ARKET. H&M remains our largest brand with a presence in 65 markets. This means a wide geographical spread involving a mix of both established and new markets with significant competition locally, globally and digitally. Retail is going through a challenging period of change in which customers’ shopping behaviour and expectations are changing at a fast pace as a result of growing digitalisation. This is an accelerating development which also brings great opportunities.”

H&M, the Swedish multinational fast fashion retailer, has noted an increase of 3 per cent in sales including VAT in the month of February 2017 compared to the same month last year.

During the first quarter from December 2016 to February this year, the fashion brand’s sales including VAT amounted to SEK 54,369 million (50,624), an increase of 7 per cent. Sales excluding VAT amounted to SEK 46,985 million (43,691), up 8 per cent from comparable period last year. In local currencies, sales including VAT increased by 4 per cent. This has been stated in a statement issued by the company.

Also Read – H&M breaking gender barriers with ‘Denim United’

The total number of stores were 4,393 as on 28 February 2017 compared to 3,970 on 29 February 2016. Earlier this month, H&M also unveiled a sustainable unisex denim collection called Denim United and breaking down traditional gender barriers.