H&M shrugs off January blues with double-digit sales growth
HENNES & Mauritz, the world’s second largest retailer, said yesterday that total sales accelerated in January, rising 15 per cent compared with the same time last year.
The Swedish clothing giant, which competes with its bigger rival Zara-owner Inditex, said this was in line with its forecasts and compared with a 10 per cent rise in sales in December.
H&M, which currently has 3,184 stores in 53 countries, announced earlier this month that it will add another country to its growing list by opening its first store in India in April.
The group, which received final approval in December from the Indian government, plans to spend around €100m (£82m) on an initial 50 stores in India, taking advantage of the opening of Asia’s third-largest economy to foreign operators.
Overall, H&M plans to open around 375 net new stores this year and make its debut entrance in countries including Australia and the Philippines. It also plans to launch four foreign websites including one in France this spring.