Sweden – The Swedish-grown fast-fashion brand H & M has revealed in its nine-month financial report that it will be shutting down 250 of its physical stores by 2021.
H & M disclosed that it has been putting stores into temporary closure since March due to the negative impact on sales development brought about by the pandemic, where at most, approximately 80 percent of the group’s stores have been shut down.
CEO Helena Helmersson said that the coronavirus outbreak prompted more customers to start shopping online during the pandemic, and they are making it clear that they value a convenient and inspiring experience in which physical stores and online channels interact and strengthen each other.
“The substantial investments made in recent years have been very important for our recovery and we are now accelerating our transformation work further to meet customers’ expectations. We are increasing digital investments, accelerating store consolidation, and making the channels further integrated. To ensure that our offerings are relevant to customers and improve availability in all channels, speed and flexibility will be even more important in the future, particularly in the supply chain.”
Currently, the brand operates its own online shopping website, www2.hm.com.
