H&M misses sales forecasts
Swedish fashion retailer struggles despite store openings
Fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz saw sales growth of 10 per cent in September, below market forecasts.
Following sales growth of 14 to 15 per cent over the past three months, and on the back of a strong period of store expansion, the slowdown raises concerns about the state of sales in existing H&M stores. H&M opened its 1,000th store in August and will open around 140 stores in total this year.
The company said that weak sales growth during the first two weeks of the month was followed by a “good increase” during the rest of September. Part of the problem is believed to be that good weather in many of its markets at the start of the month kept back sales of H&M’s autumn ranges.
Continuing lack of consumer confidence in Germany, H&M’s second bigget market accounting for almost 30 per cent of sales, is also likely to be a big factor.
