New store openings give H&M a lift

HENNES & Mauritz – better known as H&M – yesterday reported a 6 per cent rise in second quarter profits and a slowdown in same store sales declines.

The Swedish fashion retailer said sales in stores open for at least a year dropped 2 per cent in the three months to the end of May, easing from a 5 per cent fall the previous quarter.

The world's third biggest clothing group reported that like-for-like sales slumped by 9 per cent in May, although it added this was impacted by a very tough comparison against last year when sales soared by 25 per cent in warm weather.

A raft of store openings helped group profit after tax rise to SKr4.19 billion (£324 million) in the second quarter, up from SKr3.94bn a year ago.

H&M boosted its store portfolio by 93 in the six months to 31 May, although it also closed nine outlets. In the UK, it opened six stores in the spring.

The new openings helped sales in the UK rise 6 per cent in the half-year to SKr3.59bn.

H&M opened its first UK store in 1976 and now has 148 shops.

Globally, H&M has more than 1,800 stores, including 29 franchise outlets. It operates across 34 countries and employs about 73,000 people.