Higher volumes offset price cuts at H&M
Swedish fashion giant sees strong first quarter
The weak US dollar allowed the Swedish fashion retailer to cut prices across the three months to the end of February, with the average prices paid by customers falling by around 5 per cent.
The strategy paid off in volume terms, where sales rose by around 20 per cent, offsetting the price fall. H&M reported a total 9 per cent increase in sales to SEK1.78bn, about €192m, slightly ahead of forecasts.
H&M pays for more than half its clothes, mainly from Asian suppliers, in US funds
[img r]h&mstore.jpg[/img]H&M opened seven stores during the first quarter, three were in Germany, one each in the UK, Belgium, France and the USA. Four stores were closed, bringing its total number of stores to 948.
The company said it plans to open 51 shops during the current three months, with eight stores in Germany, six each in the UK and Poland, five in Spain and four in Norway.
[img l]zarastockholm.jpg[/img]H&M has outperformed southern European retail rival Inditex, owner of the Zara chain, over recent months.
The Spanish group saw profits fall by 1.3 per cent across its fourth quarter and is slightly scaling back store expansion. Inditex plans to open 320 stores globally this year, compared to 364 last year.
