Due to the many store closures, H&M has once again had a tough quarter. Nevertheless, the Swedish clothing giant saw signs of recovery in the first half of March.
Up to 1,800 stores temporarily closed
In the first quarter of the broken financial year (from 1 December to 28 February), H&M’s sales fell by as much as 27 per cent to 40.1 billion Swedish kronor (3.94 billion euros). These results indicate the group performed slightly better than expected, writes Reuters. Analysts expected a decline of 30 per cent on average.
“Sales development was significantly affected by the Covid-19 situation, with extensive restrictions and at most over 1,800 stores temporarily closed,” the company commented on the figures. At the end of the quarter, around 1,300 of the chain’s stores were still closed. “E-commerce continues to develop very well,” the company added.
Meanwhile, Germany, H&M’s main market, and some other countries have eased Covid restrictions, which meant that on 13 March, approximately 900 H&M stores were still temporarily closed. According to the fashion company, this had an immediate impact on sales, rising by 10 per cent between 1 and 13 March, compared to a year ago.
