The First Half-Year
The Second Quarter
In addition to the five new markets that H&M will open in 2012, H&M plans to open stores in several new markets in 2013. The markets where store contracts for 2013 have so far been signed are Estonia and Indonesia.
Comments by Karl-Johan Persson, CEO
“The year started well and the positive trend continued in the second quarter. In the second quarter we saw strong sales and profitability development, with a profit increase of 23 percent. The spring collections have been well received by our customers as shown by our increased market share in a fashion retail market that continues to be challenging.
“H&M’s attractive customer offering is appreciated by customers in all our 44 markets, in big cities as well as small cities – and in both countries with strong economic growth and countries with a tough macroeconomic climate.
Our expansion plan remains intact. We plan to open around 275 new stores net during the full-year. We continue to open new stores in all current markets and we will add five new markets during the year: Bulgaria, Mexico, Latvia, Malaysia and Thailand. In addition, online sales will be launched in the autumn in the US, the world’s largest online market.”
Hennes & Mauritz Ab (H&M)