H&M
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| Hennes & Mauritz AB | |
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| Type | Public company |
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| Founded |  Sweden, Västerås (1947) |
| Headquarters | London |
| Key people | Stefan Persson, Chairman Rolf Eriksen, CEO |
| Industry | Fashion |
| Products | Clothing, cosmetics |
| Revenue |  61,262.2 million SEK (2005) |
| Website | www.hm.com |
Hennes & Mauritz AB (operating as H&M), is a Swedish clothing company, known for their inexpensive and fashionable clothing offerings. It was established in Västerås, Sweden, in 1947 by Erling Persson, though at the time it only sold women's clothing and was called Hennes, Swedish for "hers." In 1968, Persson acquired the premises and inventory of a Stockholm hunting equipment store named Mauritz Widforss. Included in the inventory was a supply of men's clothing, prompting Persson to expand into menswear. Accordingly, he renamed the store Hennes & Mauritz, later abbreviated to H&M. H&M has more than 1300 stores in 29 different countries and has more than 50,000 employees. Stefan Persson, Erling's son, became CEO in 1990 and Chairman of the Board in 1998. The Church of Sweden is a major shareholder in the chain.[1]
Though its price point is in the discount fashion range, H&M markets its brand also to high-end fashion consumers, both through ads in fashion magazines and the placement of stores in areas more typically associated with more expensive designer stores. In November 2004, selected H&M stores offered an exclusive collection by fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. The press reported large crowds and that that the initial inventory was sold out within an hour.[citation needed] In November 2005, the chain launched a collection by Stella McCartney and, in November 2006, by avant-garde Dutch designers Viktor & Rolf. H&M launched another collaboration with Madonna in March 2007, designed by the star. [citations needed]
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[edit] H&M in Europe
In 2003, H&M announced its entry into the traditionally exclusive Milan fashion scene. Initial analysts declared that the high-fashion Italian market would be extremely resistant to the entry of this low-end competitor. It remains to be seen if H&M and other low-end retailers will be able to find a market there.
In February 2004, Gap, another prominent international retailer, sold off all of its German outlets to its competitor, H&M.
On 20 September 2005, H&M announced they had dropped Kate Moss for the advertising campaign of their autumn clothes range, stating that her image was "inconsistent with H&M's clear dissociation of drugs" in light of drug-use allegations.[citation needed] That contract was reportedly worth £4 million per year. Singer and model Tamyra Gray was featured in a short film and promotion campaign for the new denim jeans for women.
In August 2006, H&M began selling a line of clothes inspired by singer Madonna's Confessions Tour, including a track suit designed specially with the pop diva in mind. Autumn of 2006 also saw the Swedish clothing chain using a version with a string arrangement of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" in their new TV ads. [2]
H&M is well established in all EU countries except Romania, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania and Malta, as well as in non-EU countries Norway and Switzerland.
[edit] H&M in North America
[edit] United States
H&M launched its first American store on March 31, 2000, on New York's famous Fifth Avenue. Following the success of that flagship store, additional stores were opened in the SoHo, Gramercy, and Herald Square areas of Manhattan, followed by several mall locations in the Upstate New York cities of Syracuse, Utica, Albany, and the hamlet of West Nyack. H&M also opened two stores in Philadelphia. The first store in the state of Massachusetts was at the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside (in the city of Holyoke) in August of 2000. H&M opened a store in late 2000 in Boston's Downtown Crossing shopping district. In the fall of 2005 a store opened in Boston's chic shopping district on Newbury Street. The brand has expanded since 2000 to other regions of the country, including Chicago and its outlying suburbs and also the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN. H&M also has four stores in the Maryland and Northwest Washington D.C. area. Two H&M stores opened in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, one being at the new Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills and the other on the South Side of the city in the Southside Works, in 2005 and 2006 respectively. The Mall at Robinson in Pittsburgh's west suburbs lists H&M as a future tenant. They opened a store on 5th Ave. off of Union Square in New York, NY in December 2006.
The first two H&M stores to appear on the West Coast of the United States opened in San Francisco, California, on November 19, 2005. One store is located at 150 Post Street (next to Brooks Brothers) and the other store—H&M's bigger West Coast flagship—is located at 150 Powell Street near Union Square. Recently, H&M opened another store inside the newly constructed Westfield San Francisco Centre, having three H&M stores in the vicinity of about 4 square blocks. In addition to their three current locations within San Francisco, H&M will be adding a fourth store in a few months at Stonestown Galleria which is located near San Francisco State University. In the summer of 2006, H&M opened a new store in Walnut Creek, the suburban East Bay's shopping hub, as well as in the Sunvalley Mall in Concord, a neighboring city.
The first Southern California store opened on September 21, 2006, in Pasadena. The Pasadena store currently only offers the women's line. The second store, at The Beverly Center in West Los Angeles, opened on November 9, 2006. Other Southern California locations anticipated to open by summer 2007 include the Hollywood & Highland Complex in Hollywood[3], Santa Anita Fashion Park in Arcadia, Westfield Topanga in Canoga Park, the Irvine Spectrum Center in Irvine[4], and South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa[5].
Stores at the Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas, Nevada and Scottsdale Fashion Square east of Phoenix, Arizona, and other Arizona locations such as the not yet developed 101 and 202 Tempe Marketplace, and the Gilbert SanTan Shopping area have also been mentioned, but have not been confirmed.
As of December 2006, H&M operates stores in 18 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
[edit] Canada
H&M opened its first Canadian store at Toronto's Fairview Mall in March 2004, followed shortly by the Canadian flagship store at Toronto Eaton Centre. Following great success, more stores were opened in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area, notably in the Yorkville district. In 2006 the first Quebec locations were opened, including the main Montreal store at Centre Rockland. In late 2006, H&M locations were opened in White Oaks Mall in London, Ontario, Georgian Mall in Barrie, Ontario and The Pen Centre in St. Catharines, Ontario.
Today there are 26 stores in the Canadian division, all located within the provinces of Ontario (19 stores) and Quebec (7 stores). Expansion into Western Canada will start in 2007 with two stores in Alberta at West Edmonton Mall and Calgary's Market Mall. The first store in Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, is planned for Coquitlam Centre and is expected to open in Fall 2007. Stores will also open in Halifax and Quebec City in 2007.
[edit] H&M in the Middle East
H&M opened, in September 6, 2006, a store in Dubai's Mall of Emirates. Another store, at the Ibn Battuta Mall opened on September 13. On September 20, the first store in Kuwait opened at the Marina Mall in Kuwait.[6] A franchise agreement with popular Kuwaiti retailer Mohammed H. Alshaya, which already managed other stores such as The Body Shop secured the expansion. Plans for 14 additional stores are being made in other Middle-Eastern countries.[7] On March 7, 2007, the first store in Qatar opened at the Villaggio Mall in Qatar
[edit] H&M in Asia
H&M plans to expand into Asia in 2007, with its first store opened in 68 Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong on 10 March 2007. Two additional new stores will also open somewhere at Kowloon or Hong Kong Island in the same year.
In addition, two Shanghai stores are already being planned for opening in early 2007.
The first H&M store in Japan is set to open in Harajuku, Tokyo sometime in 2008.[8]
[edit] Trivia
- In 1986, H&M (as H&M Hennes Fashion Stores) sponsored the Mercury Records new artist sampler "Beat Runs Wild - 9 Tracks, 9 Cats, 9 Lives" which showcased new bands such as Wet Wet Wet and Swing Out Sister.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Hennes & Mauritz
- Yahoo! - H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB Company Profile
- An International Herald Tribune news report on the H&M, Gap deal in Germany
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ABB | Alfa Laval | Assa Abloy | AstraZeneca | Atlas Copco | Autoliv | Boliden | Electrolux | Eniro | Ericsson | Hennes & Mauritz | |
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