Hennes & Mauritz stands strong in challenging market

01 Feb '12

5 min read

Our strong expansion continued during the year. We opened 266 new stores net, five new markets were added and we created around 7,000 new jobs. Today we have a strong global presence with around 2,500 stores in 43 markets and more than 94,000 employees.

We are also planning for a strong expansion in 2012 with approximately 275 new stores net. The countries in which we will open the most stores during the year are China, the US and the UK. Bulgaria, Latvia, Malaysia and Thailand will become new H&M markets. We also plan to open in Mexico during the autumn 2012, it will be our first store in Latin America. This will make a total of 10 new H&M markets over a period of two years. Expansion will also continue within our other brands such as COS and Monki, including the opening of the first COS stores in Hong Kong, Italy, Finland and Kuwait.

The new year has started well, with strong sales development in both December and so far in January. Most indicators suggest that the macro-economic climate in many of our markets will continue to be tough during 2012, but we have a strong belief in our offering and are convinced that H&M will continue to maintain its strong position as the year goes on. We are looking forward to an exciting year full of opportunities.”

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB was founded in Sweden in 1947 and is quoted on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm. The company's business concept is to offer fashion and quality at the best price. In addition to H&M, the group includes the brands COS, Monki, Weekday and Cheap Monday as well as H&M Home.

Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M)

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