H&M CEO Karl-Johan Persson said in a statement that the company's "online sales and sales of the group's other brands continued to develop well" but that physical stores "were negatively affected by a continued challenging market situation with reduced footfall to stores due to the ongoing shift in the industry".
Sales between September and November dropped by 4% compared to the same period last year to 50.4 million kronor (€5 million, $5.9 million). In local currencies, sales fell by 2%. On Friday morning, the company's share price plunged by 15% in the Stockholm Stock Exchange.
"In order to respond even quicker to customers' fast-changing behaviour the company's ongoing transformation journey is being accelerated," Persson said.
"This includes continued integration of the physical and digital stores, and intensifying the optimisation of the H&M brand's store portfolio - leading to more store closures and fewer openings," he added.
The group did not specify exactly how many stores would be closed and where. H&M had announced earlier this year that it would open physical stores around the world to compensate for the downturn due to fierce competition from online sales platforms.
H&M group, which owns other popular brands such as COS, Monki and Weekday, has 4,553 physical stores around the world as of 31 August.
Source: AFP
For more than two decades, I-Net Bridge has been one of South Africa’s preferred electronic providers of innovative solutions, data of the highest calibre, reliable platforms and excellent supporting systems. Our products include workstations, web applications and data feeds packaged with in-depth news and powerful analytical tools empowering clients to make meaningful decisions.
We pride ourselves on our wide variety of in-house skills, encompassing multiple platforms and applications. These skills enable us to not only function as a first class facility, but also design, implement and support all our client needs at a level that confirms I-Net Bridge a leader in its field.
Go to: http://www.inet.co.za
Topco Media 6 hours
