H&M group shuts down Cheap Monday brand

Image credit: Cheap Monday

In 2008, H&M bought Fabric Scandinavien, the owner of the Cheap Monday brand and the store chains Weekday and Monki. Fabric Scandinavien was H&M's first-ever acquisition. The retail group has since then launched several independent chains such as & Other Stories and COS to broaden its customer base, reports Reuters.

In a statement released by H&M, the company said that in the face of ongoing digitalisation in the fashion industry, the group’s transformation work is continuing at a fast pace, with the company prioritising and focusing on its core business.

"Cheap Monday has a traditional wholesale business model, which is a model that has faced major challenges due to the shift in the industry. There has been a negative trend in the Cheap Monday’s sales and profits for a long time. The H&M group, therefore, intends to close down Cheap Monday," said the company.

Cheap Monday products are sold mainly through about 3,000 resellers worldwide. They are also sold through its own online store, a flagship store in London and on Alibaba's online marketplace Tmall.

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“We need to constantly develop our business and what we choose to invest in. We see very good opportunities and great potential for all of the other brands within New Business, which all are developing positively both digitally as well as through physical stores,” says Anna Attemark, head of New Business at the H&M group.

The closure affects around 80 employees. It's planned to start immediately with the aim of being complete by end June 2019. The Cheap Monday store in London and Cheap Monday’s online store will close on 31 December 2018.