The world recession is seemingly taking no prisoners and the Swedish fashion chain H&M  are no exception. They have reported a much larger than expected fall in sales of their clothing in their major outlets for the month of June (2009) to the tune of a 5% year-on-year decrease, meaning the forecast for a modest 1.7% fall in like-for-like sales was blown out the water. Although total sales were actually up by almost 4%, this was actually way down on an 8.3 % forecast rise in sales that was being predicted.

H&M clothing company is the world’s third biggest fashion chain when it comes to revenue, and they have more than 1800 shops in over thirty countries around the world. But they are feeling the pressure of decreased consumer spending due to current economic conditions as well. It doesn’t help matters that the retail industry is generally a very intense and competitive market at the best of times, and the European retail market appears to be hit especially hard. Although there does seem to be the first sign of green shoots emerging in consumer spending, this does not mean that a recovery is on the cards any time soon. Where others are suffering badly though, H&M still look to be performing better than most in the fashion world, and this can be put down to their focus on the low-cost segment of the industry where fashions are fast moving. Despite the rather disappointing figures for June, H&M have still managed to increase the number of stores opened worldwide by 14% to the end of June, from 1600 at the beginning of the year to over 1800 at present.

 

H&M clothing has gained good results in making the whole world buy it, the future of H&M brand doesn't seem to so dark, on the contrary, the brand will remain one of the leaders in the global fashion retail business.