Tag: h&m

India Becomes The Fastest Growing Market In South East Asia For H&M During Q3, 2018

Swedish Fashion Retailer â€“ H&Mâ€™s sales increased by 3% to USD 19,669 Million (SEK 178,817 m) during the first nine months of the financial year .However during the Q3 , the sales increased by 9% to USD 7128 million (SEK 64,800 m) . The ongoing transition has contributed to gradually improved sales and increased market share in most markets. The groupâ€™s online sales increased by 32 percent and currently the group has 4,841 (4,553) stores as of 31 August 2018, of which 247 (209) were operated by franchise partners.

â€œThe rapid changes in the fashion industry are continuing and the H&M group is in an exciting transitional period. Our transformation work has contributed to a gradual improvement in sales development with increased market share in most markets during the third quarter, particularly in Germany, Sweden, Eastern Europe, Russia and China, said -Karl-Johan Persson, CEO

Top 10 Countries Based On Sales For The Q3â€™18Â

Germany is the biggest revenue generator country for H&M during Q3 and had contributed USD 1084 million to the total sales of H&M and also managed to register a growth of 13% from the previous yearâ€™s quarter. USA dissapointed with its adverse growth rate , though it is the 2nd largest contributor however the performance is not that good. China and Russia seemed toÂ be the fastest growing spot for the H&M as in the top 10 list , China marked a growth rate of 21% during Q3 along with Russia . UK, being the 3rd largest contributor with USD 476 million during the Q3 , had a growth rate of 16% during the 3rd quarter of 2018 .

Regions	Q3 â€“ 2018 (SEK M)	Q3 – 2017 (SEK M)	Q3 â€“ 2018 (USD M)	Q3 â€“ 2017 (USD M)	Change in %	31 Aug â€“ 18 No Of Stores
Germany	9,851	8,748	1084	962	13%	458
USA	6,869	7,198	756	792	-5%	559
UK	4,330	3,726	476	410	16%	294
France	3,749	3,752	412	413	0%	240
China	3,225	2,660	355	293	21%	522
Sweden	2,821	2,619	310	288	8%	168
Spain	2,490	2,265	274	249	10%	173
Italy	2,319	2,301	255	253	1%	175
Netherlands	2,038	1,873	224	206	9%	143
Russia	2,015	1,671	222	184	21%	137
Others*	25,093	22,570	2760	2483	11%	1972
Total	64,800	59,383	7128	6532	9%	4841

Top 10 Growing Countries Based On Sales Of The Quarter Ended On August 31,2018

This table presents the ranking of top 10 countries which have grown the most in terms of Sales during the Q3 of 2018 . Iceland surprises the list with Rank 1 with a growth rate of 362% (however it has only 2 stores)Â followed by New Zealand with 106%. The number of stores as on Aug 31,2018 for both the countries were 2 and 4 respectively and the sale/store were USD 3.30 million and 1.93 Million respectively. The highest sale/store was found in Chile which had USD 5.28 Million sale per store with 8 stores only . Chile is growing at 22% . There are two countries from South East Asia in the list â€“ India and China . For Q3 , India grew at a rate of 49% with 34 stores in hand and the total sales for Q3 was USD 47.08 million ( USD 1.38 million / Store) however China , which has 522 stores as on August 31 , managed to draw sales of USD 0.68 million per store.

If we compare the sales figures of nine months , India marked the growth rate of 29% and the per store sales were then USD 3.64 million . The per store/month sales comes to about $0.4 million for India against China’s $0.23 million . Its growth rate is the highest if we consider a reasonable number of stores (ie about 25) . But we need to consider that China is growing at a bigger base of over 500 stores and hence its growth rate of 21% is also appreciable.

Regions	Q3 â€“ 2018 (SEK M)	Q3 – 2017 (SEK M)	Q3 â€“ 2018 (USD M)	Q3 â€“ 2017 (USD M)	Change in %	31 Aug â€“ 18 No Of Stores	Sale/Store
Iceland	60	13	6.6	1.43	362%	2	3.30
New Zealand	70	34	7.7	3.74	106%	4	1.93
Colombia	137	91	15.07	10.01	51%	4	3.77
India	428	288	47.08	31.68	49%	34	1.38
Mexico	844	608	92.84	66.88	39%	43	2.16
Poland	1,813	1,454	199.43	159.94	25%	182	1.10
Chile	384	314	42.24	34.54	22%	8	5.28
Ireland	351	291	38.61	32.01	21%	24	1.61
Slovakia	229	190	25.19	20.9	21%	24	1.05
China	3,225	2,660	354.75	292.6	21%	522	0.68

Top 10 Growing Countries Based On Sales Of The First Nine Months Ended On August 31,2018

If we look from the following data, we will find that Mexico is the country with a reasonable number of stores and a very good per store sale of about $ 6 million million . This puts Mexico in the hot seat when we consider the last 9 months. Next comes India with 29% growth and reasonable number of stores. Growth in Poland of 21% with 182 stores also can be considered very good.

Regions	2018 (SEK M)	2017 (SEK M)	2018 (USD M)	2017 (USD M)	Change in %	31 Aug â€“ 18 No Of Stores	Sale/Store
Iceland	176	13	19.36	1.43	1254%	2	9.68
Colombia	357	129	39.27	3.74	177%	4	9.82
New Zealand	216	129	23.76	10.01	67%	4	5.94
Mexico	2358	1670	259.38	31.68	41%	43	6.03
Kazakhstan	171	121	18.81	66.88	41%	3	6.27
India	1124	874	123.64	159.94	29%	34	3.64
Chile	1300	1060	143	34.54	23%	8	17.88
Poland	4826	3995	530.86	32.01	21%	182	2.92
Slovakia	648	538	71.28	20.9	20%	24	2.97
Czech Republic	1399	1177	153.89	292.6	19%	52	2.96

Five Year Sales Summary on Nine Month Basis | December â€“ August | 2014-2018

Looking out the results of Nine Months of previous five years , we can immediately draw this conclusion that , though the sales have been growing, however the pace of growth is inconsistent . In 2015 , the growth rate was 21% which came down to the level of 5% in 2016 , in 2017 it shown an upward trend with growth rate of 7% however in the latest Nine Months ended results , the results are down by 4% and hence the growth rate remained only 3% .

Year	SEK (M)	USD (M)	% Change
2014	126,964	13,966	–
2015	153,444	16,879	21%
2016	161,767	17,794	5%
2017	173,290	19,062	7%
2018	178,817	19,670	3%

The path is not going to be so easy for theÂ H&M, the Swedish group that is the worldâ€™s second-largest clothes retailer by sales. The retailer is facing competition not just from cheaper fashion brands such as Primark but above all internet sellers such as Zalando, Asos and Amazon. Its closest competitor Zara has been doing very well in online sales and so H&M . The retailers need to do a lot to make supply chain little quicker. Not to forget , Zara delivers the products within a day time via its online sales in many countries.

October 10, 2018

H&M Loses Some Steam In Q1 2018

Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) is a Swedish multinational clothing-retail company known for its fast-fashion clothing for men, women, teenagers and children. H&M and its associated companies operate in 62 countries with over 4,500 stores and as of 2015 employed around 132,000 people. It is the second-largest global clothing retailer, just behind Spain-based Inditex (parent company of Zara). The company has a significant on-line presence, with on-line shopping available in 33 countries.

H&M has not really performed well in the first quarter of 2018 with over 2% fall in revenues and Karl-Johan Persson ,CEO , was forthcoming in accepting the same.

â€œThe rapid transformation of the fashion retail sector continues. As communicated previously, the start of the year has been tough. 2018 is a transitional year for the H&M group, as we accelerate our transformation so that we can take advantage of the opportunities generated by rapid digitalisation. Weak sales in the fourth quarter, partly caused by imbalances in the assortment for the H&M brand, resulted in the need for substantial clearance sales in the first quarter. The high level of clearance sales combined with unusually cold winter weather had a negative impact on the sales of the spring garments. In the first quarter the H&M groupâ€™s sales were unchanged in local currencies. Many of our ongoing initiatives are giving good indications and results, even though they have not yet been implemented at a large enough scale to have a decisive effect on the overall results. The weak sales development combined with substantial markdowns had a significant negative impact on results in the first quarter.

1. Sales In Top Ten Market: Countrywise

The shares of almost all markets in H&M sales list showed some decline and USA was the highest among them losing over 10% compared to Q1 2017 sales. The table below shows the sales of H&M forÂ different countriesÂ for the first quarter of 2017 and 2018, Germany contributes the largest share of about usd 1,010 million for the first quarter of 2017 and with a change of â€“3% the sales went down to about usd 976 million in first quarter of 2018. The positive change in sales of H&M was seen only in the countries like Spain, Netherlands, Denmark, and Others, where the change was 5%, 2%, 4%, 3%, respectively.

Countries	Q1\|2018 (Million USD)	Q1\|2017 (Million USD)	% Change
Germany	975.96	1009.56	-3
USA	723.84	814.8	-11
UK	403.44	407.4	-1
France	374.40	402.48	-7
China	308.52	330.6	-7
Sweden	269.88	284.64	-5
Italy	250.80	257.4	-3
Spain	237.72	225.84	5
Netherlands	198.60	195.6	2
Denmark	166.92	166.56	4
Others	2516.40	2435.4	3
Total	6426.48	6530.28	-1

2. Online Expansion

The online expansion will continue in 2018 to countries including India, which opened in March, and via franchise partners to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in spring/summer 2018. The plan is to offer e-commerce in all store markets as well as in other markets. New H&M store markets in 2018 will be Uruguay and Ukraine, which will open in the second half of the year. For full-year 2018 a net addition of approximately 220 new stores is planned. Most of the new stores in 2018 will be H&M stores, of which 45 will have H&M Home shop-in-shops, while approximately 90 stores will consist of the brands COS, & Other Stories, Monki, Weekday, ARKET and Afound. In 2018, eight standalone H&M Home stores are planned to open. The table below shows its brands are online in many of the countries where H&M has stores.

*Brand*	Countries With Brick And Mortar Stores *(In Number)*	Countries With Online Stores *(In Number)*
H & M	69	44
COS	37	20
Monki	14	19
Week Day	9	18
& Other Stories	16	15
Cheap Monday	2	18
ARKET	4	18
H & M Home	46	38
Total	197	190

3. Stores Count By Brand

Biggest increase in H&M flagship brand stores happened during first quarter.

*Brand*	*Q1-2018* *(Stores Count)*	*28-Feb-18* *(Total Stores Count)*	*28-Feb-17* *(Total Stores Count)*
H & M	5	4293	4001
COS	0	231	199
Monki	-1	118	115
Weekday	0	33	27
& Other Stories	0	60	48
Cheap Monday	0	3	3
ARKET	4	5	0

4. Stores Count ByÂ Region

The stores count by region shows that, Europe and Africa regions had a stores count of 2885 stores in 28 feb 2017 and it went upto 2988 stores in 28 feb 2018 , however there was a closure if 20 stores in that region for the first quarterÂ of 2018. Asia &Â Oceania had a stores count of 902 as on 28 feb 2017 and which went upto 1062 stores in 28 feb 2018, it is also to be seen that there was 16 stores opened in the Asia & Oceania region . North & South America has a stores count of 606 in 28 feb of 2017 which went upto 693 stores in 28 feb 2018, it also saw an opening of 8 new stores in first quarter of 2018.

*Region*	*Stores Count* *Q1\|2018*	*Stores count* *28-Feb-18*	*Stores Count* *28-Feb-17*
Europe & Africa	-20	2988	2885
Asia & Oceania	16	1062	902
North & South America	8	693	606

On the whole, H&M is expanding still but its rate of growth has gone down . It needs to create new ways to take up the digitilization challenge which is chipping away its sales and though it has already done that by opening online stores, it remains to be seen how they perform. Some of the new ones, like in India, have taken off quite well !

April 13, 2018

H & M | Steaming Ahead In 2017

Hennes & Mauritz AB,Â a Swedish multinational clothing-retail company, is the second largest global clothing retailer, just behind Inditex. The company has a significant online presence, with online shopping available in 43 countries, COS in 19 countries, Monki and Weekday in 18 countries each, & Other Stories in 13 countries, and Cheap Monday in 5 countries. The company reported SEK 51,229 Million (about US$ 6 billion)Â of total sales in the Q3 which is 5% more than its previous year . It is also one of the largest retailer of denim apparel globally and the its growth also greatly impacts the denim industry worldwide. In this report , we have done a detailed analysis based on the results published by H&M recently for a period of 9 months from January 2017.

Nine months (1 December 2016 â€“ 31 August 2017) Report

â€¢ The H&M groupâ€™s sales including VAT increased by 7 percent to SEK 173,290 m (approx US$ 20.5 billion)Â during the first nine months of the financial year . In local currencies sales increased by 4 percent.

â€¢ Profit after financial items amounted to SEK 15,936 m (approx US$ 1.9 billion) . The groupâ€™s profit after tax amounted to SEK 12,191 m (approx US$1.45 billion).

Sales In Top Ten Markets

The table below shows the sales(In SEK M) for the top ten markets by countries upto nine months for the year 2017 and 2016 including VAT. Amongst many countries given in the list below Germany leads the sales upto third quarter of 2017 and 2016. The sales in Germany increased by 2% from SEKÂ 26,877 M in 2016 to SEK 27,310 M in 2017, Similarly the sales for USA increased by 7% from SEKÂ 19,580 M in 2016 to SEK 21,005Â M in 2017. UK is the third leading in sales for H & M but the sales decreased by â€“2% from SEK 11,052 M in 2016 to SEK 10,876 M in 2017. However, the least sales of H&M was in Spain , Netherlands , Norway. The sales for H&M in Spain increased by 5% from , SEK 5840 M in 2016 to SEK 6159 M in 2017, Similarly the sales in Netherlands decreased by â€“2% from SEK 5,667 M in 2016 to SEK 5,549 M in 2017. The Sales in Norway saw a positive change of 7% from SEK 4,327 M in 2016 to SEK 4,640 M in 2017.

SALES IN TOP TEN MARKETS, for Nine months	Upto Q3 2017(SEK M) Including VAT	Upto Q3 2016(SEK M)Including VAT	% Change
Germany	27,310	26,877	2
USA	21,005	19,580	7
UK	10,876	11,052	-2
France	10,337	10,023	3
China	8,389	7,756	8
Sweden	7,626	7,481	2
Italy	6,771	6,520	4
Spain	6,159	5,840	5
Netherlands	5,549	5,667	-2
Norway	4,640	4,327	7
TOTAL	108,662	105,123	3.5

Expansion

In spring 2017 H&M online stores were opened in further six new markets: Turkey, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Malaysia, all of which have had a good start. The H&M online store is today available in 41 markets and with the addition of Cyprus and the Philippines, which will open later this autumn, the H&M online store will be available in 43 markets by the end of this year. Next year the online expansion will continue into further countries, including India. The plan is to offer e-commerce in the future in all store markets as well as in other markets.

New markets for H&M stores in 2017 are Kazakhstan, Colombia, Iceland, Vietnam and Georgia. During the spring the first H&M stores in Kazakhstan and Colombia were opened, and in the third quarter the first store in Reykjavik in Iceland. This was followed by a store opening in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in September. All stores were very well received. For full-year 2017 approximately 475 new physical stores are planned to open, with the focus primarily on growth markets. Most of the new stores in 2017 will be H&M stores, while approximately 70 will consist of the newer brands COS, & Other Stories, Monki, Weekday and ARKET.

ARKET got a great reception in August and September on the opening of its first stores in London (Regent Street and Covent Garden), Copenhagen and Brussels, and the launch of its online store in 18 European markets. During the year another opening will take place in Munich. In spring 2018 Stockholm and Amsterdam will get their first ARKET stores. H&M Home will also continue its rapid expansion, with approximately 60 new H&M Home shop-in-shops planned for 2017. The first standalone H&M Home stores are planned to open in 2018. In parallel with the expansion the store portfolio is being optimised through renegotiation, rebuilds and relocations, adjustment of store space and through closures to continually ensure that the store portfolio is right for each market. As a part of this, approximately 90 stores will close, giving a net addition of around 385 new stores for full-year 2017. Uruguay and Ukraine are set to become new H&M store markets in 2018.

No. Of Markets as onÂ 31st August 2017

Brand	Store	Online	Details of expansion 2017
H&M	67	41	Store: Kazakhstan, Colombia, Iceland, Vietnam, Georgia Online:* Turkey, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Cyprus
COS	36	19	Store: Malaysia, Israel (franchise), Slovenia* Online: South Korea**
Monki	13	19	–
Weekday	9	18	Store: France, UK
& Other Stories	15	14	Store: Ireland, Finland, South Korea, United Arab Emirates (franchise)
Cheap Monday	2	18	–
ARKET	1	18	Store: UK, Belgium, Denmark, Germany Online: 18 markets

*Opened By 31st August-2017

** Opened in September-2017

Stores Count By Brand

Below is the details of stores count by brand as on 31-st-August-17 and its comparison with the same period of the last year. The stores count for H&M for 31-st-Aug-16 was 3,784 which increased by 349 stores to 4133 stores as on 31-Aug-17. COS had a stores count of 177 stores in 31-Aug-16Â which increased to 38 stores to 215 stores in 31-Â Aug-17. Monki brand had a stores count of 110 as on 31-Aug-16 which increased to 5 stores to 115 stores as on 31-Aug-17. Weekday had a stores count of 23 stores as on 31-Aug-16 which saw a increase in stores by 7 stores to 30 stores as on 31-Aug-17. The Brand & other stories had a stores count of 36 stores and the stores number of stores increased to 20 stores to 56 stores As on 31- Aug-17. Cheap Monday had a number ofÂ storesÂ 5 which saw an closure of 2 stores as the figure went down to 3 stores as on 31- Aug-17. Arket Brand has 1 stores only as on 31 st- Aug â€“17.

STORES COUNT BY BRAND	(No.Of Stores) 31-Aug-17	(No.Of Stores) 31-Aug-16
H&M	4,133	3,784
COS	215	177
Monki	115	110
Weekday	30	23
& Other Stories	56	36
Cheap Monday	3	5
ARKET	1	0
Total	4,553	4,135

Stores Count By Region

The total stores count by region as on 31st-Aug-17 was 4,553 out of which Europe & Africa had a total count of 2,786 for 31st Aug 2016 and that increased to 138 stores for the 31st Aug 17 toÂ 2,924 stores.The stores Count for Asia & Oceania as on 31-st-Aug â€“16 was 799 stores which increased to 187 stores to 986 stores in 31-st Aug â€“17. Similar;ly inÂ North & South America region had a total count of 550 stores in 31-aug-16Â which increased toÂ 93 stores to 643 stores to 31st â€“ Aug â€“ 17.

Region	31-Aug-17(No. Of Stores)	31-Aug-16(No. Of Stores)
Europe & Africa	2,924	2,786
Asia & Oceania	986	799
North & South America	643	550
Total	4,553	4,135

Sales by Region

The sales by region shows that the sales for the Asia and Oceania upto Q3 2016 was SEK 19,638 M which increased to about 17 % to SEKÂ 22,376 M , Similarly the sales for Europe and Africa upto Q3 2016 was SEK 96,648 M which saw an increase by about 4%. The sales for North and South America upto Q3 2016 was SEK 23,261M which saw an increase of about 12% to SEK 26,165 M Upto Q3 2017.

Region	Net sales (Upto Q3 2017)(SEK M)	Net sales(Upto Q3 2016)(SEK M)
Asia and Oceania	22,376	19,638
Europe and Africa	101,056	96,648
North and South America	26,165	23,261

Operating Profit By Region

The Operating profit for Asia and Oceania upto Q3 2016 was SEKÂ 318 M which increased to 27 % to SEK 403 M upto Q3 2017. Similar;lyÂ the profit for Europe and Africa upto Q3 2016 was SEKÂ 447 M which increased about 39% to SEK 662 M upto Q3 2017. The Operating profit for North and South America Upto Q3,2016 was SEK 643 M which decreased about 119% to â€“127 SEKupto Q3 2017 M.

Region	Operating Profit Upto Q3\| 2017(SEK M)	Operating Profit Upto Q3\| 2016(SEK M)
Asia and Oceania	403	318
Europe and Africa	622	447
North and South America	-127	643

Sales(SEK M) Of H & M

The sales for H&M in third quarter 2017 saw an increase of about 5% from SEK 48,982 M in Q3,2016 to SEK 51,229 M in Q3,2017. Similarly the sales figure for the first nine months of 2017 saw an increase of about 7% from SEK 13,9547 M in nine months, 2016 to SEK 149,597 M in nine months, 2017. Further analysis shows that although there is an increase of sales for both the period but the operating profit is reducing for both the period . The operating profit for third quarter 2017 saw a decrease of about 20% from SEK 6247 M in Q3,Â 2016 to SEK 4939 M In Q3, 2017. Similarly , the operating profit for the nine months, 2017 saw an decrease of about 4.5Â % from SEK 16,469 M in Nine months, 2016 to SEK 15,748 M in nine months, 2017. This can happen due to reduction in price and increase in sales volume.

Q3\|2017	Q3\|2016	Nine months\|2017	Nine months\|2016
51,229	48,982	149,597	13,9547

Operating Profit (SEK M) Of H&M

Q3\|2017	Q3\|2016	Nine Months\|2017	Nine Months\|2016
4,939	6,247	15,748	16,469

November 14, 2017

Recycling Blended Textiles – A Technological Breakthrough By H&M And HKRITA

The innovative partnership between the non-profit H&M Foundation and The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) finds groundbreaking solutions to recycle blend textiles into new fabrics and yarns â€“ without any quality loss â€“ through a hydrothermal (chemical) process. The technology will be scaled up and made available to the global fashion industry. The finding is a major breakthrough in the journey towards a closed loop for textiles.

â€œFor too long the fashion industry has not been able to properly recycle its products, since thereâ€™s no commercially viable separation, sorting, and recycling technology available for the most popular materials such as cotton and polyester blends. This very encouraging finding has the potential to change that. We are very excited to develop this technology and scale it beyond the laboratory, which will benefit the global environment, people and communities,â€ says Erik Bang, Innovation Lead at H&M Foundation.

How Does This Technology Work ?

While talking with Denimsandjeans.com ,Â Erik Bang, Innovation Lead at H&M Foundation said

Weâ€™re working on two different separation and recycling technologies, both targeting blended textiles. In this process of Hydrothermal ,Â the cotton comes out at a cellulose powder which is possible to upcycle back into yarn and fabric through existing and emerging technologies. Through our second method, the biological one, the cotton is processed to glucose. Glucose is a widely used chemical building block in several industries including textiles. The polyester is in fiber form and without quality loss from both methods, which of course is fantastic. The water used in the process is recovered and can be reused over and over again in a closed system. So there is very little water consumption. We are very mindful not to create another problem through these new technologies so it is top of mind in designing both methods. The partnership works towards the goal of providing at least one separation and recycling technology to the industry by 2020. Weâ€™re currently scaling up the lab breakthrough in a pilot plant in Hong Kong, operational within 12 months. We are very excited to see what the future holds.

The hydrothermal process uses only heat, water and less than 5% biodegradable green chemical, to self-separate cotton and polyester blends. This fibre-to-fibre recycling method is cost effective, and thereâ€™s no secondary pollution to the environment, ensuring the life of the recycled material is prolonged in a sustainable way. The technology will be licensed widely to ensure broad market access and maximum impact.

â€œBy being able to upcycle used textiles into new high value textiles, we no longer need to solely rely on virgin materials to dress a growing world population. This is a major breakthrough in the pursuit of a fashion industry operating within the planetary boundaries,â€ says Edwin Keh, Chief Executive Officer of The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA).

The H&M Foundation initiated the partnership with HKRITA in September 2016. It is backed by an estimated 5.8 million euros of funding, with HKRITA conducting the research and work to commercialise the outcomes. The Innovation and Technology Fund of the Hong Kong SAR Government also provides additional substantial funding and support. The total project investment is estimated to around 30 million euros during the four-year collaboration (2016-2020), which makes it one of the biggest and most comprehensive efforts ever for textile recycling.

It is H&M’s customersâ€™ engagement that have enabled this important research, as the exact financial contribution is determined by the annual surplus from H&Mâ€™s global in-store garment collecting program, which is donated to H&M Foundation. To date the H&M Foundation has donated 2.4 million euros to HKRITA.
H&M has been very consciously moving in the direction of sustainability as an important corporate objective. We can see its developments in terms of usage of organic materials, efforts to implement sustainable practices with its partners , collection of used garments and many other sincere efforts in environmental protection. This again is a huge step and if the efforts pay off, it will make huge impact on the global fashion industry with vast amounts of recyclable materials available taking off big part ofÂ ‘FASHION BURDEN’ from mother earth. It also looks that this technology, once developed , will be freely available for common good. If the project is successful, we may find PCW getting a new meaning and fashion industry may loose some of its guilt ! We all look forward to and hope for success of this project.

ABOUT

H&M Foundation is a non-profit global foundation, privately funded by the Stefan Persson family, founders and main owners of H&M group. Its mission is to drive long lasting positive change and improve living conditions by investing in people, communities and innovative ideas. Through partnerships with organizations around the globe, the H&M Foundation drives change within four focus areas; Education, Water, Equality and Planet. In addition to this, the Foundation can also provide emergency relief. Since 2013, the Stefan Persson family has donated 1.3 billion Swedish krona ($177 million/â‚¬144 million) to the Foundation. Learn more at hmfoundation.com.

The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel was established in 2006 and is a publicly funded applied research center. It is one of five applied research centers sponsored by the Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. HKRITA engages in applied mid- and down-stream research to support the textile and apparel industries, to drive sustainable improvements, and to drive improvements for society.

The Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF), administered by the Innovation and Technology Commission, aims to increase the added value, productivity and competitiveness of our economic activities. The Government hopes that, through the ITF, Hong Kong companies could be encouraged and assisted to upgrade their technological level and introduce innovative ideas to their businesses.

November 10, 2017
H&M Launches Denim United | Unisex Collection

H&M, the Swedish fast-fashion giant, has recently announced the launch of Denim United, a unisex denim collection, available exclusively online at hm.comÂ shortly.Â Â Denim United treats his and her clothing as equals, blurring the borders and challenging the prescribed norms of what is considered feminine and what looks masculine. Traditional style is the guiding principle and silhouettes and materials are used interchangeably for menâ€™s wear and womenâ€™s wear. The result is a sustainable, modern collection for everyone.

“It is very natural for us to launch a unisex collection as fashion is constantly evolving and intersecting and today we see there are no boundaries in democratic style. Fashion should always be inclusive,” says Marybeth Schmitt, H&M Spokesperson.

Denim United will feature oversized silhouettes and casual mix and match pieces which creates an effortless style with work wear jackets, overalls, and slouchy shorts, all in a range of washes ,including pinstripe denim and dark wash. The denim pieces combined with high neck t-shirts or the oversized hoody make for the quintessential normcore look . Prices range from USD 19.99 to USD 49.99.

With this collection H&M is continuing their work towards a more sustainable fashion future and closing the loop on fashion. The garments in the Denim United collection are all made with more sustainable materials such as organic cotton and recycled cotton.H&M introduced its first sustainable collection in 2010.

About H & M

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) was founded in Sweden in 1947 and is quoted on Nasdaq Stockholm. H&M’s business idea is to offer fashion and quality at the best price in a sustainable way. In addition to H&M, the group includes the brands & Other Stories, Cheap Monday, COS, Monki and Weekday as well as H&M Home. The H&M group has more than 4,300 stores in 64 markets including franchise markets. In 2016, sales including VAT were SEK approximately 223 billion. The number of employees amounts to more than 161,000.

Please save the dates for the second edition of Denimsandjeans Vietnam to be held on June 7-8 at Gem Center, Ho Chi Minh City , Vietnam . For invitation , please register here.

March 10, 2017
Recycling Story At H&M
H&M, the second biggest apparel retailer in the world with 4200 stores around the globe with its revolutionary idea has been bringing a change through its dedicated efforts in the area of sustainability and recycling .

Its all started in the year 2005 when the company had first introduced some organic cotton as its first effort towards sustainability and in 2013 , the company launched their â€˜In-Store Garment Collection Initiativeâ€™Â in which one can leave his/her old clothing at any H&M store in the world. Under this scheme, Customers who drop off clothes receive incentives, in the form of discounts or vouchers per bag of clothing. This was done to promote the consumer to donate theÂ clothing that would otherwise be trashed. Currently H&M is offering about 15% discount on next purchase to customers who are putting up any used clothes in their collection bins in the stores.

With an investment worth USD 5.8 million,Â the H&M foundation further partnered withÂ The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) with an idea to develop the technology to recycle blended textiles into fabrics fit for new clothing . This paves a way for another partnership with a solution provider â€“ I:Collect (I:CO) ,subsidiary company of SOEX . I:Collect has a plant which equals to the size of 13 football field and called Wolfen plant where H&M operates sorting and recycling on a major scale.

PROCESS

Since 2013, when H&M started the â€˜In-Store Garment Collection Initiativeâ€™, the garments collected there have been brought here through logistics by I:Collect from all over the world, and has been operatingÂ two similar facilitiesâ€”in the U.S. and India to ensure zero-waste use of clothes, shoes, and textiles that would otherwise likely end up in landfills. The garment sorted here are still contribute very minor share in the total of 85% of discarded clothes that sent to landfills (the rest are donated), yet the operation requires an operation 13 times the size of a football field,Â seven hundred employees most of whom work in the 24-hours-a-day business of sorting. On an average 14 metric tons of unwanted remainders collected from recycling bins at H&Mâ€™s thousands of locations from Europeâ€™s closets trucked by around 25 to 30 vehicles in a day.

There are 350 different measures over which this sorting process is based on which later identifies whether the old clothes will be re-sold, partly re-used ,or fully recycled.If the process finds it unable for reuse, it goes into recycling . Clothes which are usable are sent to 90 countries in Africa and Latin America to be sold through Used Clothes Stores. The three main segregations are :
- Rewear â€“ clothing that can be worn again will be sold as second hand clothes.
- Reuse â€“ old clothes and textiles will be turned into other products, such as cleaning cloths.
- Recycle â€“ everything else is turned into textile fibres, and used for things like insulation.
But everything that comes to I CollectÂ is used, in one way or another. The most worn-out cotton items head to a shredder, where they are gradually broken down and repackaged into inviting bales of fluff, and become wipes and cleaning cloths. The huge amount of dust produced during the process is sold to paper industry as brickettes .

The new garments being made are not 100% recycled . H&M says :

â€œ Currently, one single garment can contain up to 20% recycled fibres (recycled cotton or recycled wool from collected garments) without any loss of quality or durability. We are working to get that number to increase by creating demand and investing directly in technological innovation. The first step is to minimise the risks of fashion going to landfills â€“ we believe our clothes deserve better! In the long term, we want to find the technological solutions needed to be able to fully reuse and recycle all textile fibre. When using other recycled material (blended or pure) such as recycled polyester, a garment can already now be made of 100% recycled material.â€

RESULT

According to Anna Gedda, H&Mâ€™s head of sustainability, The company has collected about 34,000 tons of waste, or the weight of 100 million t-shirts so far . However, H&M produces about 550-600 million garments p.a and this quantity might seem very less against the same . However,still the initiative is big and a game changer. If some of the large retailers adopt this model, we may see Fast Fashion doing much less damage to the environment than it is currently inflicting !
December 21, 2016
H&M Launch Collection Of Student Designer Hannah Jinkins

H&M has launched a multi-piece collection with 25-year-old Hannah Jinkins â€“a young designer who is also theÂ winner of its 2016 Design Award. Jinkins was selected last December by a panel of included H&M Creative Advisors . Jinkings has since been developing with H&MÂ Â to develop pieces that embrace her signature utilitarian, feminine aesthetic .The designer uses oversized pieces with open edged tailoring and drapery works . The most visible highlight of the collection are the stapled looks on sleeves , pockets etc to give that fitted silhouette to an otherwise loose and oversized appearance.

â€œJinkins, who just graduated from the Royal College of Art in London who She thinks in a totally fresh way about womenâ€™s fashion, creating pieces that have a real energy and authenticity,â€ says Ann-Sofie Johansson, Creative Advisor at H&M..â€

H&M has been giving awards to students of design schools for fourth year in a row and tries to use their designs for its collections encouraging the students and giving them enviable international exposure. The collection launches at hm.com the pieces , many of which use selvedge denims,Â areÂ pricedÂ Â from 29.99 to 199.99 pounds in UK.

To certain extent, these designs can also be characterised as â€˜DENIM MASHUPSâ€™ as they mashup multiple fabrics, looks and elements into one design !

October 21, 2016
H&M Green And Conscious Exclusive collection

The Eco Sustainability is the need of hour which has been well understood by the Denim Industry. Consequently , everyday new efforts are being made to ensure the sustainability and the very recent development is that the Swedish clothing company ,H&M, is moving into sustainable fashion . This Retail powerhouse H&M has taken this very innovative initiative on a much larger scale than expected .

Eco Sustainability has been a focus for H&M for some time now. A few years back H&M started the initiative to recycle used garments .The company had rolled out a global garment recycling program in which anyone can donate their clothing and in return of that the company will give a token discount of 15% in a form of voucher which can be used by the donor on the next purchase. To collect the cloths, the bins are placed near the cash registers to prevent any ambiguity. Stores accept any clothing irrespective of brands.

H&M has been collecting more than fourteen thousand tons of clothing since 2013. Once the cloths are collected , they are sent for further processing and classifications. Clothing which found to be very much worn are reused as cleaning cloths and otherwise. Sometimes they are also recycled into raw materials for new products. Those clothing which can be possibly worn again are sold at second hand stores. New collections are being designed with these old clothes .

Sixteen new denim styles for men, women and children made from recycled cotton collected in H&M’s Garment Collecting initiative were recently introduced at stores. The items include jeans, jackets, joggers, zip-up hoodies, joggers and jumpsuits.

H&M Conscious Exclusive collection

After collaborating with the MusÃ©e des Arts DÃ©coratifs, located in the Palais du Louvre in Paris,the chain is set to celebrate the new H&M Conscious Exclusive collection.The new H&M Conscious Exclusive Collection features organic materials,recycled wool, Tencel, and recycled sequins.The whole collection is dreamy and showcases gorgeous prints, elegant dresses and versatile separates. The natural color palette ties perfectly with the environmental theme of the range.Some of its apparel is created from recycled worn clothes â€“ many coming through its collection of customersâ€™ unwanted garments. For its Close The Loop collection, recycled fibers from shredded unwanted clothes are blended with organic yarns to produce durable denim.Continuing the sustainability is fashionable theme, H&M have created sustainable glamour via their Ambassador, Actress Olivia Wilde who is known for her efforts for a sustainable environment.

The range shall be launched at MusÃ©e des Arts DÃ©coratifs located in the Palais du Louvre in ParisÂ onÂ Thursday 7th April to coincide with the opening of the hotly anticipated exhibition, Fashion forward.

December 25, 2015
H&M Sustainability Report 2014

Recently H&M released its annual sustainability report for 2014. The document mentions in detail how the company is implementing more eco-friendly practices in its supply chain and stores to reduce the harm it causes the environment, as well as its efforts on a variety of social welfare issues such as gender equality and poverty alleviation.

H&M manufactures at least 600 million items each year and operates more than 3,200 stores in 55 countries. If you include its subsidiary brands, such as COS, that number jumps above 3,500 stores, and the company is expanding its locations by 10% to 15% each year. To operate those storesâ€”besides manufacturing and shiping the clothes â€”requires a staggering amount of resources, from energy-hungry cotton to electricity, oil, and water . Even if H&M manages to mitigate its environmental footprint slightly from one year to the next, its business continues to grow, and that footprint remains enormousâ€”and far from sustainable.

CEO Karl Johan Persson emphatically reiterates the integration of sustainability mantra in the DNA of H&MÂ as

â€œOur business idea is to offer fashion and quality at the best price. Itâ€™s about the best value, not the cheapest price. Sustainability is an important part of this. We know that our customers, just as our colleagues, care more and more about it. And while we must be realistic about the fact that most customers are not prepared to pay more for added sustainability value, I am convinced that it will become an important differentiator in the future.â€

H&M Conscious

H&M Conscious is the name of their work for a more sustainable fashion future. Itâ€™s consisting of seven commitments and is built on passion, long-term thinking and teamwork.

â€œWe want to make fashion sustainable and sustainability fashionable.â€

Seven Commitments

H&M seeks to make seven commitments towards sustainability and measures its performance towards those commitments.

1.Provide fashion for conscious customers:

â€œOur goal is to increase the share of more sustainable fabrics and materials every year. We are constantly on the lookout for innovative materials and processes that can make our products more sustainable. â€œ

H&M uses about 21% of total cotton consumed in the form of Organic Cotton, BCI or recycled cotton and is supposed to be No. 1 user of organic cotton according to textile exchange report of 2013. About 13.7% of all its materials consumed are in the form classified as conscious materials.

2.Choose and reward responsible partners

â€œWe need to be a good partner ourselves. Our standards are high and we reward sustainability performance with better business. We work hard to ensure better livelihood and positive development in the communities where we operate.â€

H&M seeks to reward its responsible partners and seeks to make them more committed towards their workers and encourage role model factories. It seeks to have about 550 suppliers with fair living wage system by 2018.

3.Be ethical

â€œWe see diversity as an asset that makes us better and we want to set a good example wherever we operate. To us this means respecting human rights, taking a clear stand against corruption and embracing diversity and inclusion.â€

One of the criteria that H&M takes for measuring being ethical is to employ more of female employees â€“ though not a very right measure for the same. About 76% of their workforce is female and 72% of management positions are being held by them.

4.Be climate smart

â€œTackling climate change is one of the major challenges of our time. Its consequences are as likely to affect us as everyone else on our planet, including our suppliers, colleagues and customers. So it is essential that we do everything we can to reduce climate impact â€“ for example by only using renewable energy wherever possible.â€

Renewable energy is sought to be used in all stores, offices, warehouses of H&M (*100% in all markets, where this is feasible and renewable electricity is credibly available. This is currently not the case ,for example, in China or Peru).

Electricity use per sq. mtr of H&M brand store is sought to be reduced by 20% in 2015 compared to 2007 levels.

5.Reduce, reuse, recycle :

â€œWe strive to reduce, reuse and recycle wherever we can. Our biggest concerns is that too much fashion ends up in landfill. Thatâ€™s why we teamed up with I:Collect and created a the first global garment take back system.â€

Anyone can drop unwanted clothes at H&M and they will try to give it a new life. The goal is to create a closed loop where unwanted garments are recycled into new creations. Currently they claim toÂ blend in about 20% recycled fibres without any loss of quality or longevity. About 7600 tons of garments were collected for reuse or recycling through their in store garment collection programme. The target for 2020 is 100,000 tons â€“ a very ambitious one indeed.

6.Use natural resources responsibly

â€œMaking great fashion can require a lot of resources. Growing cotton, dyeing fabrics and washing our clothes all require significant water use. But natural resources arenâ€™t endless.â€

H&M seeks to educate its suppliers on water conservation and compliance with waste water quality requirements.Â Their internal guidelines on waster water quality are met by about 71% of total suppliers in 2014.

7.Strengthen communities

â€œStrengthening the communities around us is part of our responsibility. Prosperous and stable markets where human rights are respected, skills training are readily available and the eco-systems are healthy benefit our business.â€

Besides other activities of community involvement, H&M trains cotton farmers to do better crops. The numbers claimed are quite high !

While the report makes it clear that H&M is doing a good deal to lessen its impact, it is also a fact that the goal and fast fashion are inherently at odds. By its nature, fast fashion is a volume business, which is exactly what makes it a big strain on the planet. The proponents of fast fashion will try to always sell more and there is inherently the conflict with sustainability. H&M acknowledges that the sheer quantity of resources it consumes is a serious problem. In US alone about 10.5 million tons of clothes end up in landfills each year. Even if H&M ensures a large part of its clothing is organic or BCI cotton , still the landfills will be filled unless the garment recycling process becomes much more widespread and is taken up by a larger number of brands and retailers. H&Mâ€™s target of getting 100,000 tons of garments for reuse in 2020 will be still less than 1% of garments going to landfills in US alone. Currently it is about 0.2% of its own garments that are being recycled. The problem is endemic and needs industry wide awareness. However, still it is commendable that H&M has taken a lead which can offer example to other larger entities in this business.

Sponsored link:

April 12, 2015
Conscious Blue (rather Green ) Denim From H&M

H&M , after dabbling with many other green initiatives , is further going green . On October 2, H&M introduces Conscious Denim, a collection with clean styling and contemporary fits, that not only uses more sustainable materials, but also more conscious processes. In a first for H&M, the washes used on its denim have been graded to assess their environmental impact, including energy and water use. The collection includes pieces for women, men and children, and will be available worldwide in around 1,000 stores for women and 700 stores for men, as well as online.

“We’re so excited about Conscious Denim at H&M. Weâ€™ve worked hard to reduce the environmental impact from the washing processes alongside using materials that are more sustainable. The collection is full of great pieces, and proves how sustainability can equal great style,” says Helena Halverson, Head of Sustainability H&M.

The result is a full collection with modern cuts in deep indigo tones. For women, Conscious Denim has the essential styles of the season, from low-waited or high-waited skinny jeans to boyfriend cut and tapered ankle. Alongside these denim essentials, there are also pieces made from conscious materials that wear just like denim, to create the full look. Jogger jeans in knitted indigo have the softness of sweatpants, while an indigo boiler suit in Tinsel has a sharp, slim fit.

For men, classic 5 pocket styles in raw denim are joined by jeans in different cuts and washes. As well as a deep indigo denim jacket, there’s a twill workers jacket while an indigo wool coat is the perfect outer layer for the season. Meanwhile for kids there are different styles, including jeans and dungarees, all in conscious materials.

Each garment in the Conscious Denim range will feature the Clever Care label, with details on sustainable wear and care, while in store hang tags will describe the conscious qualities of each piece. It’s all part of H&M’s long term commitment to more sustainable fashion. Conscious Denim will be available October 2 in 1,000 stores for women and 700 stores for men worldwide, as well as online at www.hm.com.

September 18, 2014

H & M Countrywise Sales in 2012

Unmindful of the not so inspiring economic situation in Europe, H & M is steaming ahead with continuous growth . It is conquering new territories with stores opening in different countries at rapid pace. In 2012, it opened 304 new stores (29 more than planned)Â and now totals over 2776 stores in 48 countries. The new markets it entered like Bulgaria, Latvia, Malaysia, Thailand and Mexico seem to have brought good response to the retailer. The giant retailer will be opening 325 new stores in 2013 with most aggresive expansion in China and USA. New markets like Chile, Lithuania, Serbia and Indonesia (through franchise) will be explored this year. Moreover, the retailer will try to increase its sales through an online shop in USA .

With salesÂ touching $21 billion in 2012 , it is the second largest apparel retailer in the world after Inditex and is on a high growth path.

In the table below, we will try to understand the main markets of H & M and and how it is faring in the older and the new markets. It would be interesting to see that German maket leads other maketsÂ of H &M by a huge margin. US comes a distant second and other markets like UK , France, Sweden , Netherlands etc follow. It is also interesting to to see that Germany gives the highest per store sale to H &M followed byÂ Switzerland and Austria â€“ all countries in very close physical proximity .

H&M Sales In Different Countries/ Store Wise Sales : 2012

Country	No. of Stores	Sales in US$ (million)	%Sales by country	Sales per store ($ million)
GERMANY	406	4634	21.51	11.41
USA	269	1919	8.91	7.13
UNITED KINGDOM	226	1592	7.39	7.04
FRANCE	182	1525	7.08	8.38
SWEDEN	177	1258	5.84	7.11
NETHERLANDS	124	1023	4.75	8.25
SWITZERLAND	82	890	4.13	10.85
SPAIN	146	888	4.12	6.08
NORWAY	111	859	3.99	7.74
CHINA	134	827	3.84	6.17
ITALY	104	743	3.45	7.14
AUSTRIA	68	731	3.39	10.75
DENMARK	94	657	3.05	6.99
BELGIUM	70	506	2.35	7.23
CANADA	61	478	2.22	7.84
POLAND	103	450	2.09	4.37
JAPAN	22	383	1.78	17.41
FINLAND	53	371	1.72	7.00
RUSSIA	37	325	1.51	8.78
PORTUGAL	23	132	0.61	5.74
GREECE	25	128	0.59	5.12
CZECH REPUBLIC	31	117	0.54	3.77
ROMANIA	19	97	0.45	5.11
HUNGARY	26	95	0.44	3.65
CROATIA	11	93	0.43	8.45
SOUTH KOREA	11	91	0.42	8.27
IRELAND	16	88	0.41	5.50
SLOVENIA	12	74	0.34	6.17
TURKEY	11	67	0.31	6.09
SINGAPORE	2	62	0.29	31.00
LUXEMBOURG	10	57	0.26	5.70
SLOVAKIA	13	52	0.24	4.00
BULGARIA	4	18	0.08	4.50
MALAYSIA	2	13	0.06	6.50
MEXICO	1	7	0.03	7.00
LATVIA	2	5	0.02	2.50
FRANCHISE	88	293	1.36	3.33
	2776	21548

For the future, US and China are getting to be important for H & M and it is targeting a number of East European nations as mentioned above. All in all, H &M looks like unstoppable at the moment and on a high growth trajectory . It is spreading its risks by being present in a large number of regions and countries and the future looks not too bleak for the retail giant.

July 20, 2013

H&M Suppliers In Different Countries–II

We had previously published a report on the H & M suppliers in 5 countries . In this report we are further publishing details on the approved suppliers in other countries including India, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Korea, Sri Lanka, Italy, Poland and Tunisia . Details on about 145 companies and their 220+ factories are given in this report which is in the form of an excel sheetÂ which can be downloaded .

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Download the report by clicking here.

H & M Suppliers in Different Countries

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April 27, 2013

Tag: h&m

Top 10 Countries Based On Sales For The Q3â€™18Â

Top 10 Growing Countries Based On Sales Of The Quarter Ended On August 31,2018

Top 10 Growing Countries Based On Sales Of The First Nine Months Ended On August 31,2018

Five Year Sales Summary on Nine Month Basis | December â€“ August | 2014-2018

1. Sales In Top Ten Market: Countrywise

Countries

Q1|2018

(Million USD)

Q1|2017

(Million USD)

% Change

Total

6426.48

6530.28

2. Online Expansion

Brand

Countries With Brick And Mortar Stores

(In Number)

Countries With Online Stores

(In Number)

Total

197

190

3. Stores Count By Brand

Brand

Q1-2018

(Stores Count)

28-Feb-18

(Total Stores Count)

28-Feb-17

(Total Stores Count)

4. Stores Count ByÂ Region

Region

Stores Count

Q1|2018

Stores count

28-Feb-18

Stores Count

28-Feb-17

Sales In Top Ten Markets

Expansion

No. Of Markets as onÂ 31st August 2017

Stores Count By Brand

Stores Count By Region

Sales by Region

Operating Profit By Region

Sales(SEK M) Of H & M

Operating Profit (SEK M) Of H&M

How Does This Technology Work ?

ABOUT

PROCESS

RESULT

H&M Conscious

Seven Commitments

1.Provide fashion for conscious customers:

2.Choose and reward responsible partners

3.Be ethical

4.Be climate smart

5.Reduce, reuse, recycle :

6.Use natural resources responsibly

7.Strengthen communities

H&M Sales In Different Countries/ Store Wise Sales : 2012

Countries With Brick
And Mortar Stores

Countries With
Online Stores